You Mean The World to Me
by Oc girl forever
Summary: Emma, a fifth year slytherin, has never cared about anything. When a few cicumstances thrusts her into the spotlight, she reluctantly learns that some people are worth holding on to. Can she really hold on to them though?
1. Soon Enough

Hey guys! Some of you know this story, I've made some grammatical corrections. For those who are new, this is my first HP novel. I hope you enjoy the story. R&R's are very miuch appreciated.

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Chapter 1-Soon Enough

Tick, tick, tick.

Every day at this school was making me sick. To be perfectly honest, I can't stand Hogwarts. I could not wait until I could get as far away from this place as humanly possible. "Three more years", I thought as I tapped my quill in rhythm to the large clock in the Professor Flitwick's class. The man is a whack job. I found it useful to not listen to his lessons at all. I sighed and pulled my brown hair to my left shoulder and wrote down the notes from the large blackboard. Boring. I made sure to stay clear of any drama. Harry seemed to be a definite no,no. His friends stuck to him like clue. I was a Slytherin anyway, so that wasn't a problem. Draco, the most popular slytherin has never seemed to care for me much. I may have done a project with him a year or so ago. I couldn't imagine anything that would make our lives click together though. My parents were far away from anything that his parents were involved with, so I had nothing to worry about. I sighed relaxing my shoulders as the bell rang. I closed my text book, stuffed it and my notes into my bag and walked into a crowd of kids. They all headed for the Great Hall for lunch as I walked down to the dungeons, right to the Slytherin common room. I sat down on a soft chair and opened up a book.

Boring, boring, boring. I'm always stuck in my own head. I really should get out more.

Poke,poke.

"Hey, you're Emma, right?"

I peered up. It was Draco Malfoy. I felt the crease in my forehead scrunch up. Did I not just go over the fact that I didn't want Draco Malfoy in my life? I wanted nothing at all. I needed nothing. My parents weren't around me enough to care whether or not they were here. Nothing seemed relevant to me.

"Yes, what do you want?" I asked a bit coldly. He smirked. I hated that smirk. I was pretty sure that everyone hated it except the dumb, drooling bimbos (Pansy, so bimbo).

"A few first years had a letter for you. I didn't think you would want them coming up to you, so I decided to make your day."

"By bullying first years?"

"By letting you speak with me, of course."

I scoffed and grabbed the letter from his outstretched hand. I began tearing it open without looking at the address. I got out of the chair and began walking to the girls' dorm. I glanced at Draco and his little henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle. Isn't it weird how it's always the two of them together. I guess they would make a cute couple. Odd. But cute.

"Draco, I don't care if you ever speak to me. I really-"

I broke off mid-sentence. I was reading the letter for a second time. My hands went numb as if they were paralyzed by the letter in them. I re-read it again. Are they serious? I glanced at Draco in horror and back at the note from my clearly insane parents.

_Dear Emma,_

_How are you doing dear? Me and your father have wonderful news for you. We are back from our exhibition in Egypt. We'll be able to spend much more time with you from now on. We are on a new job. A different kind of job. Your father will be working closely with Mr. Malfoy, so we will like for you to get to know their son better. I hope that you already know him, Draco Malfoy. He's in your house and year, so there will be no trouble I hope. I hope that you are well._

_With all my love,_

_Mummy_

I shook my head. I ripped the letter and glared at Draco. His smirked widened. I could tell that he already knew what was written in here before I even got the letter. He just wanted to see my expression. I hope he took a picture. I could make it come to life and decimate him. I walked back to the bottom of the stairs and threw the papers in his face.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I spat.

He was angry, but not as much as I was. "No, it's not," he grabbed both my arms and pulled me so close to him that his short blond hair was falling on my face. I struggled against him. He pulled me closer and put his lip on my ear, "Your father is now officially a death eater."

I shoved him away from me and ran up the stairs as quickly as my wobbly legs would allow. I couldn't seem to make my legs go fast enough. I could still hear three taunting idiotic laughs. I threw my door open. My only roommate, Kim, was making out with a boy. How she got him up here, I don't know. I didn't care.

"Get out!" I told him. I didn't wait for either of them to respond. I threw his shirt on the outside of the door. Kim scowled and left the room with the boy. I slammed the door. I couldn't register anything in my mind. I needed time to think this through and I couldn't think at this very moment. I couldn't function properly. I laid in my bed and pushed my face into my silvery pillow. I probably screamed. I don't know. I eventually drifted away into sleep.

I woke up the next day with a throbbing headache. Not thinking does that to me. While thinking too much made other people head hurt, it was the other way around for me.

My entire body felt numb. I got dressed in a haze. I didn't notice anything about that day until it was the afternoon and I realized that it was Saturday. I decided not to go to Hogsmeade. I desperately needed some sugar in me, but I'd do anything to avoid seeing Draco again.

I had no such luck. The moment I sat down in the courtyard to eat my lunch in peace, up walks Draco Malfoy in all his jack ass glory. I crisscrossed my legs and groaned as he took a seat next to me.

"So, your parents want us to be friends now." he said, popping a grape in his mouth.

"So, my parents are idiots." I responded with as much ignorance as I could muster in my foggy mind.

He laughed and sat back so he was on his elbows. He gently nudged my legs. "You shouldn't say that about your parents. It might come back to bite you in the ass."

"Sure, and then I'll get something to bite you in the ass. Now let me eat my lunch in peace."

"Sure, but now that we're friends there's a couple of-"

I swallowed hard and bulged my eyes out, trying to contain the sudden instinct to hit him. "Whoa-whoa, whoa. We," I pointed between me and him, "are not friends. We're not even acquaintances. Leave me alone."

"I'm bloody Draco Malfoy. You don't know who you're dealing with."

"I don't care if you're Voldemort. Both of you can rot in hell."

He stopped. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Yes I-"

He brushed a strand of my hair back into place. I felt his warm hand on my cheek. He went from raging monster to a person in a second. What did I say? My mind really wasn't working.

"No you don't."

"How so?" We were close again. His hand fell down o my neck. He seemed to watch his hand as he explained with careful precision. He was whispering to my face.

"Your father is one of the most talented wizards in Europe. His world studies have given him secrets to the most powerful spells and potions to ever come into existence. The Dark Lord wanted to recruit him. He...let's just say your father didn't say no. He's working alongside my father now. He's a death eater."

"Why? My father never had any interest before."

"He values what he has too much to let The Dark Lord destroy it."

I shook my head. It seemed to clear as I did so. My father would give the greatest secrets to a man who wants to ruin his life, my life? My family was suddenly wrapped in everything that I didn't want to be a part of. I felt everything at once. My chest tightened up. I was suddenly aware of how close Draco was to me. I pushed his hand away from me. I drew my knees up to my chest. The claustrophobia only worsened.

"So, what happens now?" I asked, hollow, as I turned to him. He was smirking again. "What?"

"Just like I said. You and I will be the best of friends."

"Ugh, I doubt it. I never had a reason to hate you before, but now I can clearly say it. I hate you Draco Malfoy."

"Oh, you'll love me soon enough… Soon enough, Emma Clarissa Paniettiere."

Oh, god. He knows my name. I groaned banging my head on my knees. What had my parents done to me? I suddenly realized that the only thing that I had cared about was my sanity. Now that was gone. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

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Me:That's it. Chapter 1

Emma:Oh wow. So I have to be friends with Draco. He's a hotty.

Draco:I know.

Me:(rolls eyes)Yeeeeaaaaahhhh,so come back and read the next chapter 'Alone'. Kay? R&R. Thank you sooo much.

Emma:Bye!

Me:(My BFF,laughs)Bye.


	2. Alone

Chapter 2-Alone

"Remind me why I'm here again." I demanded as Blaise Zabini pulled me through the empty stands of the quidditch field. It was windy and cold from the November weather. I was forced to rush out with only my sweater. I had a thin pair of jeans with flats. My hair was in a big messy bun and I wasn't in the mood for another one of Draco's attempts at friendship. This morning alone had consisted of a wake up call by three first year girls carrying a huge breakfast platter for me, a firebolt that I had no idea how to use, and a new dress. Now I was being forced to do who knows what in the cold stands of the quidditch field. Blaise smiled at me.

"Just sit and watch. I've heard that you've never been to a game before. Draco saw fit to put on a little performance for you. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure." He zoomed away on his own firebolt and left me mumbling to myself.

"I doubt it." I said as he whisked away and out of sight. I raised my knees, crossed my arms, and slouched down as far as I could go to warm myself. Within about a minute, I saw seven figures pop out from all corners of the field. They were all hooded. They did various loops and spins, and, at some point, two people deflected some bludgers. Sure, they were good, but I hated show offs. After about five minutes, I got up and walked toward the exit. I felt a huge gust of wind as someone circled me and landed so we were face to face. His dark green hood flew off, and I could now see Draco's blond hair and taunting grey eyes.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm cold and hungry, and I want to be left alone today." I told him crossing my arms.

"Come on Emma. Is it that boring to you?" he continued shooting questions at me.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care enough for me to decide whether or not it's boring."

"What do you want to do then? Anything you want."

"I want to be left alone. Can you do that?"

He glared. "I'm trying to be nice, Emma. You can try doing the same."

I rolled my eyes. "That isn't possible when I'm cold and hungry."

He didn't respond. I sighed and walked around him. I hadn't gotten anywhere with him the last few days. His persistence had just annoyed me. There was nothing to be achieved by Draco and I being 'pals'. I had to be sure to ask my mother about it in my next letter. The wind picked up a bit. I rubbed my arms as I walked through the courtyard. I felt someone touch my shoulders. With a jolt, I stopped and turned. Draco had taken off his quidditch robe and draped it on me. I gazed at him. He glanced at me once before he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Thanks." I mumbled. His eyes were the prettiest grey I'd ever seen. They seemed to have a certain hardness to them. It made him seem frightening. I knew better than that though. Yet, I found myself unable to concentrate at that current moment. The rest of the team caught up with us.

"Hey, I'm starving. Are we going to head to lunch, or what?" Crabbe asked rubbing his large stomach. I would've thought of Crabbe as a cute teddy bear if he wasn't so thick.

I ripped my eyes away from Draco and we all headed for the Great Hall. My arms found their way through the sleeves of his robe. I shrugged to myself. So much for the day alone. As long as I wasn't bothered _**too **_much.

Sitting at the Slytherin table was like a monarchy; everyone sat according to their importance. Everyone seemed to revolve around Draco. Personally, I didn't understand it. Draco sat in the middle. Crabbe and Golye and Zabini sat next to him. Next was the quidditch team and on and on. Pansy usually sat next to Draco, but I guess I took her place. I didn't think too much on that one at the present moment. She now sat across from Crabbe with her friends shifting with her. Younger kids who were underlings to Draco sat across from him, waiting for him to give them an order. I quietly ate my lunch as everyone chatted. I wasn't listening to anything until Draco broke my chain of thought with his yelling. I shot my head up to see a bickering Draco, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. I didn't need to know what they were arguing about to know that it was totally pointless.

"Give it a rest, Draco." I told him.

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend, Malfoy." Ron shouted.

"I'm not his girlfriend." They continued arguing. I might as well have been talking to a monkey. I then tried to block it out and finish my lunch when I heard my name.

"Emma, why would want to be friends with someone as thick as Draco Malfoy anyway?" Harry asked me.

"Potter, I swear-"

"Trust me, it's not by choice." I interrupted Draco.

"Your own girlfriend doesn't want to hang out with you Malfoy." Ron snorted.

"But, if it was up to me, I wouldn't be talking to any of you. You, Harry, Draco. It's just a huge waste of my valuable time. I'd much rather be _alone._" I said the last word narrowing my eyes at Draco. Everyone was glaring at me. I kept my eyes on Draco.

"Really?" he asked after a long, awkward silence.

I shook my head and stood up from the table. If it was allowed, they all would've cursed me right then and there. No slytherin ever insults Draco Malfoy. It was just a big no, no. As I left the Great Hall, I felt as if there was a giant, ridiculously bright spotlight on me. It took every ounce of strength in me not to sprint. Once I was out of sight, I took a seat at the fountain. I summoned my little notebook and began writing. I swear it was only ten minutes before someone called me. I looked up. It was Pansy with her friends. She stood over me, glaring. I stood up and showed my teeth with the fakest smile I think I've ever put on.

"Yes?" I asked trying to be nice. She, on the other hand, didn't have any intention of being polite. She looked back at her friends who were evaluating me. They seemed to find me amusing. Pansy seemed relieved as she turned around with a smug look on her face. It was like a pale imitation of Draco's smirk. What was wrong with these slytherins?

"You better not try anything with my Draco," she spat.

I rolled my eyes. "You can have him. I've already told everyone-"

"If I find out otherwise, I swear you'll end up in the Forbidden Forest, naked and very, very confused."

Her friends laughed.

"I don't care-"

"Don't touch him. He's mine!"

"Ugh!" I threw my hands up and pivoted on my heels to turn. I walked away from the hysterical girls and found a nice little tree overlooking the lake and the school. I sat beneath it and attempted to begin writing again. It didn't go well. I didn't get two lines in before someone else began bugging me. There was no way I was going to get anything done today.

"You shouldn't hang out with Malfoy."

"So I've be told." I responded sarcastically as I narrowed my eyes at Harry.

"He's a bad influence." He reasoned as he sat beside me, "and I can tell that he's been causing you all kinds of stress."

I laughed. "Yeah, Draco is known to cause stress."

"Draco just doesn't know when to let up." he laughed with me.

"Suddenly I just can't seem to get rid of him." I laughed again. And then I sighed. I wasn't being fair. Draco tried for days to get along with me, and it only to Harry Potter two minutes. "Draco tries though. I guess. He just needs to see that things can't always be done his way: on _his_ terms." I shrugged and smiled at him.

"You know, you can always hang out with me," he changed his words when he saw me glare at him, "I mean, use me as an excuse to be alone. We can go somewhere and you can totally ditch me there."

Harry held out his hand. I stood and held mine out to shake his, but he took my hand and kissed it softly. I blushed despite myself. I sighed again. I don't blush. I looked away and caught sight of Draco leaning in the long entrance door. I held his angry grey eyes for a few seconds until he turned and walked back into the school. I mumbled a small goodbye as ran to catch up with Draco. I suddenly realized that I should meet Draco halfway on this friendship thing. It wasn't right to accept Harry so openly and then shut Draco down so completely. By the time I got to the double doors, he was gone. I looked around and ran towards the slytherin house. I guessed that he would've headed back to the dorms.

Suddenly, someone clamped their hand on my mouth. It was stupid to try and scream, but I did. A large boy lifted me off the floor with his free arm and ran down another corridor. I could tell he was big, but I couldn't turn my head to see who it was. My eyes bulged as the boy bobbled us down some shifting stairs. I squirmed in his arms trying to get free. I was going to bite him, but I thought better of that. I didn't know where his hands had been. I didn't want to get sick or something. We ended up in a long, dark hall of dungeons. It was almost completely pitch dark. The only light was the dimy lit torches that looked as if they would go out if a breeze happened to find its way down into the hall. The boy slowed down; he was obviously out of shape. He carried me all the way to a tall mahogany door. He finally set me down.

"You'll enjoy this. I love the meetings." he said as he pulled the hood of Draco's hood over my head. I peeked out to see Crabbe. He pounded on the door slowly to add dramatic effect to the eerie atmosphere. He smirked at me and shrugged his own black cloak hood on pushing me into the large room. It was full of about a two dozen cloaked figures, students by the look of it. I felt out of place with my green and silver while everyone else wore black on black on black. "Just watch and learn. This is why slytherins are respected."

Goyle shoved me in line. I looked around. There was a single cloaked figure sitting in a small chair in the center of the room. I looked around in confusion and as I turned to my right, I saw Draco looking down at me, his mouth in a hard line. He looked away and signaled a cloaked figure at the end of the line. The person took of his hood and revealed himself to be Blaise. He walked over to the boy and yanked of the little boy's hood. I could now clearly see that he was a third or fourth year. I also noticed how scared he was. I could easily tell you that the look on his face didn't soothe my nerves.

My eyes followed Draco as he walked up to the boy. Someone pulled me over to a stone chair that was similar to a throne. I sat on the edge, refusing to relax. This did not feel right. I listened hard as Draco began addressing the boy.

"Is Slytherin not good enough for you, Anderson?" he asked, his voice hollow and icy.

"No,it-it is." Anderson stuttered.

"We can all say that there are plenty of fine slytherins in our house, isn't there?"

"Ye-yes."

He turned to glance at me. His eyes were on fire. I'd never seen someone so angry. "Then why would you, an heir, want to be with someone like Ginny Weasley, who is not only a gryffindor but also a blood traitor?"

"It was only good fun, Malfoy. One night."

Draco laughed. It wasn't out of humor. It was more as if he'd gone completely insane. "Shame. How one night, one day, one hour can change everything. You know the rules, Anderson. You know the consequences."

Draco walked back over to me. He took a seat on the edge of my seat and glared down at me. I knew he saw the confusion in my eyes. Without taking his eyes away from mine, he signaled someone else. I jumped when I heard a blood hurtling scream. I jolted to see a boy named Jake Turner sticking a rod on the boy. It was an ageal. The weapon pulsed. I could almost feel the rays. Anderson screamed. He shook madly in the seat he was tied down to. I grimaced as I watched him writhe and screech in pain. I waited for Jake to pull, but he didn't let up, I got up to help him. Draco pulled at my arm.

"Are you insane? You could kill him." I screamed at him.

"He knows the rules." Draco said coldly.

"What rules? There are no _rules_."

"For heirs there are. No heir shall betray the death eaters." He shouted back, "No heir shall fraternize with the enemy."

I looked at him as if he were insane. He didn't look at me. "Fraternize...with the enemy? How was he doing that? How did he betray anyone?"

"Someone overhead him tell Ginny that he _loved_ her. He wanted to be with her _forever_." He chuckled to himself, "There are plenty of sensible girls around here, and he decides to go so close into enemy territory. He might as well become best friends with Potter."

His voice was even, but hard. He glared at me. I stared back with the same force.

"So, if he doesn't want be with a slytherin, then he can't be with anyone... You're saying that you would rather him be alone?"

He looked away. "You seem to be fond of it."

I scoffed and ran into the center of the room. I ripped the ageal away from Anderson's neck and out of Jake's hand. I felt the waves of pain as I threw it across the room. It looked harmless from where it lay now. I turned and untied Anderson from the chair. I helped him up as I let out a rugged breath. I couldn't possibly imagine what he was going through if I was already in so much pain. I gave Draco one last glare, and the boy and I walked out of the room. The door slammed behind us. There was an uproar of voices.

"I can't believe they let you do that." he said. Even though he sounded amazed, his voice was hoarse. I shook my head.

"I'm new at this whole thing," I told him as we walked into the corridor to our dormitory, "but after what I just saw, there is no way that I'm going to be a part of _that_."

"We have no choice. We're heirs. You're one of the heads. Isn't your dad working alongside the Malfoys? You can't just walk away...I'm betting that you and Draco will be the first to become death eaters."

I twisted my lips and frowned. I didn't say anything else. Is this what this was all about? I was supposed to somehow follow in my dad's footsteps as a death eater? Is this what this was all about? Draco saw me with Harry and saw fit to teach me a lesson. Sit and watch, and watch and learn. Suddenly everything seemed darker. It was annoying at first, but now I saw where this was going and it had only been a few a week or so. What would the rest of the year be like? When I went to bed that night, I decided I didn't want to know. I didn't see it before, but now I saw that Draco did give me what I wanted. I _**was**_ alone. The only difference was that there was a crowd now.

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That's all for chapter 2. Make sure to R&R! I'll love you forever if you do! Come back soon for Chapter 3. You see that little button that shows you how to go to the next chapter? Yeah. Go read my story. Wait! Review...and then finish reading my story.


	3. Destructive Beauty

Ah-ha. You're reading chapter 3. Whether you're reading for the first time, or re-reading it. Please review. Be nice please. It's an old first attempt so, gentle comments are appreciated.

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Chapter 3-Destructive Beauty

He's down the hall. Turn and run. Coming down for breakfast. Uh-uh. He's still in the common room. Sit by the lake. Five minutes. He'll be out of class soon. Lunch? Can't be avoided. I'm starving. IGNORE! This is pretty much how the passing weeks had been going. I'd been avoiding Draco. Where ever Draco was, I was sure that I was as far away from that place as humanly possible.

I'd gotten to know Anderson better. It turned out that he was pretty amazing. His first name was Cody. He was as smart as they come in the slytherin house. His intelligence centered in DADA and Potions. No surprise there. It seemed that the only reason he was truly in slytherin was because his father expected him to be. His pride could have easily put him in gryffindor as it did slytherin. He told me a few days ago that he wouldn't have agreed to be a slytherin if he'd met Ginny earlier. They'd been together since the summer. A very dangerous time since You-Know-Who came back into power. Cody and Ginny had just come across each other one day in Diagon Alley. They instantly fell for each other. They'd been keeping it a secret for months. It was pretty amazing, a slytherin being so in love. It only made me hate Draco even more.

But now? Now I was starving. I'd missed breakfast that morning, and I barely made it through my first few classes. I decided that I would sit by Cody and chat with his few friends that he had left. Maybe I would help him with a plan to get Ginny back. After that night, all the heirs spread around what he'd said about Ginny at the 'judgment'. She hadn't spoken to him since. It was terrible to watch, so I did my best at cheering him up-even though I felt like crap myself. We were going over romantic things-most of which I'd gotten out of the Twilight series-when Draco sat beside me.

He sounded annoyed. I didn't care. I listened as he began talking to the back of my head.

"You can't avoid me forever."

I closed my eyes and turned my head very slowly. I acted as though I was going to look at him, but then glanced past him to Harry. Maybe I could spend the rest of the day with him.

"You're seriously going to hang out with that Potter kid? Hello, are you listening to me? Emma!"

I turned back to Cody grinning widely. It was hard not to laugh. "Hey, maybe you can buy her a box of chocolates."

"Naw, Ginny hates that kind of stuff."

I snapped my fingers and poked out my lip. "Ugh, well maybe-"

"Emma! Will you listen to me!"

_'I can hear you perfectly fine you insensitive, barbarian jerk.'_

"Emma. Come on."

I continued to ignore him. "Come on, Cody. Maybe I have something in my room we can use. I can't think out here. There's something breathing on my head."

As Cody and I got up, Draco grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the Great Hall. Cody stood there dumbly as I was taken away. Underclassmen. What wusses.

"Emma, stop being stupid. I've put up with you for weeks now. Everyone is getting pretty pissed." he hissed.

I rolled my eyes and took my arm back. "Everyone meaning the heirs or every one meaning you?"

"I'm not going to put up with this."

"Well, neither am I. I didn't sign up to beat kids senseless for having hearts. For being in love."

"He's like fourteen. What the hell does he know about love?"

"More than you." I folded my arms and walked away from him.

I didn't hear any steps behind me, so I decided that he wasn't following me. We had to meet up again. In Potions. With Draco being Snape's favorite, he'd assigned me and Draco to be partners. Figures. I just worked silently as he tried to talk to me. According to him, I wasn't being reasonable. Reasonable used to be my motto. Not really, but yeah. I clamped my mouth tightly. I still got the glares from Pansy. I bet he'd never worked this hard to get Pansy. It made me a bit smug for split moments in time. I couldn't help but adsorb the glares she gave me. I loved them.

Silent. That was all I had to do. Then I was alone. I walked into a small room on the third floor as all the classes ended. Dumbledoore had always said that it was dangerous, but that was for people who didn't know where they were going. There was a small room that I'd found in third year that had small couches and candles. I suspect that past students set the room up. There were hidden candy jars everywhere. I'd worked on it, so it was now my own little space. I remembered that I could've gone here in all the chaos. I wasn't thinking, but now I was. No one could get to me. I picked up a dusty book that I never took out of the room. It'd been sitting in here all summer. I began reading. Edward Cullen was my favorite character-totally in love, complicated but simple, perfect but so imperfect. I was in love with him. I admitted that I was more like Bella though. Perfectly content with staying out of large crowds and being alone never bothered us. She turned on me in the second book though. She started to thrive on the company. I swore I'd never depend on anyone to comfort me.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

I put down the book. There was someone pounding on the door. I didn't understand. No one knew about this place but me. I was sure of it. I thought I was sure. There weren't any traces of anyone new. I grabbed my thick black velvet coat. It was cut at my thighs and it had big black buttons. It had a nice cut collar that made it look classy but subtle. I wore a red hat that I'd tilt. It was kinda a cowboy top hat. It was very cute with my red gloves. My dark jeans went perfectly with the ensemble. I picked all three up in one hand as I rushed for the back exit. I didn't get there in time. I didn't know why I was running. Something just told me that I didn't want to see the person on the other side of that door.

Turns out that I was right, a girl's intuition. I heard a rough voice calling into the room. "Who's there?" I tried to sneak by him, but he ran into the center of the room. "Emma, what are you doing in here? It's dangerous on this floor."

I turned slowly, grimacing, as I brought him into view. "I know what I'm doing. I always come here. This is my sanctuary." I gestured to the room. He sighed deeply and walked up to me.

"Emma, you keep pushing and pushing." he said in a whisper. His eyes narrowed. His blond hair dangled away from his face. It looked like he was really tired. Maybe I should give him a break. He grabbed the bottom of my arm.

"What do you expect? What do you want?" I asked him, my voice as low as his. He grabbed my arm and hissed in his hoarse tone.

"How about you stop pushing your luck? There are a lot of angry people in the slytherin house. I'm doing everything I can. You can't go around doing everything you want. I'm running this show."

I rolled my eyes, but he gripped my wrist tighter. I winced slightly, but stood my ground. "Draco?"

He looked down as if he hadn't known his hand was crushing my bones. He let go and balled up his fists. I rubbed the red hand imprint. Yes, it was definitely going to bruise. Jack ass.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

I scoffed and picked up my coat. I pulled it on with my hat. I walked past him slipping on my gloves. I didn't want anyone to see the bruise. It would start unnecessary drama. I had a big enough spotlight as it was. On the other hand, maybe I did want to screw him over. Merlin knows he deserves it. I glanced behind me. He wasn't there. I slammed the door with as much force as my good hand could muster. It was just me in the large, massive corridor. The silence was a bit too much. The cool air would do me and my wrist some good. There was snow on the ground everywhere. Footprints echoed of the students who'd been playing earlier. There were lots of body imprints from kids who fell into the cold fluff. Snowmen and angels were present in lots of places. It could've been a winter wonderland if I wasn't in such a bad mood.

I took a deep breath, composing myself as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came into view. They had built large forts and were currently making large piles of snowballs. Harry did a little double take as I joined the small group. Harry smiled. I returned his warmth. How could I not? There was just something about Harry. He was always nice to me. It brightened my day. Harry was kind and easy going. He didn't force anything on me. He waited for me to come to him, and I liked that. I was a slytherin. He was a gryffindor. The only thing that changed between the two of us was that now we knew each other. Maybe that was why I hadn't told Harry about what happened with Cody. He wouldn't understand. Hermione had tipped me off that he could be rash in these sort of subjects. There was a mentality about slytherins that he couldn't understand-that he wouldn't understand. I shoved my hands deeper into the soft pockets. Even though I wore gloves, I was still hyper aware of the discoloring of my hand and wrist.

"Hey Emma, you wanna have a round? You can be on my team." Harry beckoned as he set a pile of imperfect snowballs behind his snowy wall.

I smiled. "Hmm, I think it should be boys against girls. It's only fair." I tried to put my thoughts away into the back of my mind. It was hard when I'd gone from not thinking to over thinking.

"It'll be three against two. How is that fair?" Ron whined.

Hermione walked past my back and smiled carrying some more icy balls. "Well, what our team lacks in testosterone, we'll make up in numbers, so it evens itself out."

I nodded satisfied with Hermione's answer. I was just being sexist. Her reasoning was much better than mine. I walked behind the girls' fort. It was much better than Harry's and Ron's. I guess this was Hermione's handy work. She was way too smart, but in times like these, it came in handy. I decided a long time ago that Hermione's intelligence didn't bother me one bit. More power to her. I took a seat behind the wall Hermione was perfecting. Ginny slumped right beside me and began stuffing the snowballs with a small object that looked like blue ice.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Evening the odds a bit more...if you wanna think of it that way. They're just an enchantment, courtesy of Fred and George. They'll melt the fort when I hit it." she answered quietly. She gave me an evil smile and passed me a loaded snowball. The evil seemed to seep into her eyes as well. I'd never met a devious gryffindor before, but she was definitely devious. She could easily pass off as a slytherin. She'd probably be at the top with Draco, she was so cool (for a fourth year).

"Four...," Ron counted off standing up with one arm raised, "...three...tw-"

Ginny socked him right in the face. Everyone began laughing except for Ron and Hermione.

Ron turned red, and Hermione mumbled a few giggled 'It's not funny' and 'he could have been hurt'. I stopped listening to her soon enough to see that Harry was completely distracted. He roared with tears coming out of his eyes. He didn't even notice when I threw my only snowball at him. It hit him square in the glasses.

Now everyone was laughing. Ginny continued launching our frozen ammo at Harry and Ron's quickly melting fort. It was now a large puddle of water. The boys were soaking wet. Me and Hermione were now on the ground too. My core muscles tightened, making it hard to breathe. My black velvet coat was covered in snow by the time I got control of myself. I sighed letting the last giggles escape me as the two wet boys walked over to us. These people had become dangerously close to being my... friends. It was a hard word to place with anyone. I never really thought of anyone as a friend, but over the last few weeks, I'd been hanging out with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and mostly Ginny and getting to know them. They were really cool people. The more I got to know them, the harder it was for me to see why slytherins hated them so much.

"You're pretty cool, for a slytherin." Ginny noted as if responding to my mental comment. She was laying in the snow and making a snow angel.

"Cody's even cooler than I am." I noted, giving her a hint of the conversation that she had been avoided by her and him. True, Cody and Ginny should've been working this out themselves, but they were unwilling-Ginny was mad, and Cody was scared and refusing to put his pride on the line for a girl. 'That's what got him in trouble in the first place' I thought to myself.

"I thought so too, but he's an ass. He's just like the rest of them." she said as she distracted herself from everything that was being said by absently admiring her angel. She pulled at her own soft cotton red and gold gloves walking away.

I sighed. Ginny had a lot of troubles with boys in the past. Hermione told me that the only reason she was with so many was because she couldn't find the right one. Ginny might have thought Cody was the best so far, but he'd blown it. I'd been trying to get Ginny to give him another chance, but she leaves the room without even discussing the issue.

"She just needs time." Hermione reasoned.

"No, Anderson needs to stay away from my sister." Ron said as he held out his arms so Hermione could use a spell to dry him.

"He's not so bad. It's just Draco..." I broke off, thinking. "Let's call it a day. I'm tired. I still have some work to do before Christmas break."

"Sure, we'll see ya." Harry said. I waved to the three of them and walked off.

Then, I ran back into the school. I was suddenly freezing, so I ran as quickly down to my house as sun was setting in the sky. There was a big, hot fire already going. Most people were probably already in their rooms. I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I looked at a large clock on the wall that read 6:45. It would get dark quickly. As I entered the common room there was only one person sitting by the fire.

Draco sat alone in a soft easy chair. He had a blue rose in his hand and twirled it back and forth. His gaze was locked on the flames that burned on the wooden logs. He looked focused, like he was in deep thought. I sat in an identical seat that was across from his at a slight angle. I waited for him to look at me, but he just continued to stare into the orange and red flames. There was nothing to see really. They danced within each other. It was beautiful, but I'd watch fires too much to be entranced by them at this age.

"Is that for Pansy? She'll be pleased. She's-" I began.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked with no emotion in his voice.

I slouched back and pointed my knees together. I really didn't feel like arguing with him right now. I took off my hat and my coat. I decided to leave the gloves on. I didn't want to see the bruise that had developed. The bruise-the reason why I was mad at Draco today. I'd forgotten all about it. "Yes, as a matter of fact. I had fun."

He didn't respond. I waited for a few more minutes in the uncomfortable silence. Weird. Silence was uncomfortable to me now. I moved from the chair to the front of the fire. I laid on the floor facing the ceiling. I closed my eyes and waited for the lectures to come. It didn't though. Instead, I felt a hand on mine. I opened my eyes.

Draco had taken a seat beside me. He was upright and reversed so I could see that he had one knee up. He lifted the hand he'd crushed earlier. Slowly, he slipped the glove off my hand and examined the damage. It was now a dark purplish blue. I winced as I saw the hand print in its shape. He traced it and placed his hand in the position in which the swelling was. I gazed at him. I'm not really sure what changed at that moment, but something did. I wondered what was going on in his head. I wondered why he looked so gentle at this very moment. I wondered why I was perfectly fine just sitting with him. I wondered why my heart pumped the blood in my veins a hundred times faster.

I'm not sure how long we sat there. All I know is that I eventually fell asleep watching the flames. I was preoccupied with my thoughts of how to relate the flames to Draco. Maybe that's what he was doing. He was comparing himself to the destructive beauty. He was beautiful, but he was destructive. He could hurt people. It was hard to see the good he could do... if there was any good in him at all. I wasn't sure. Maybe there was, but then again it was a once in a lifetime thing-a solitary moment.

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KK, that was Chapter 3. Chapter 4 is already up, so you should go and read it after you review. You know that little R&R that writers tend to put at the beginning and ending of their stories. R&R guys. Love ya!


	4. Joys of the Holidays

Haha, the christmas chapter. I didn't realize how many errors were in this chapter. I weeded through it as much as I could. If you see any errors, tell me asap.

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Chapter 4-Joys of the Holidays

I woke up early that morning. I saw the small clock on the nightstand. It said 4:23. I wasn't sure if it was morning or afternoon for a moment. I was guessing it was morning because I didn't hear anyone. The second thing I saw was the rose laying by my head. I picked it up and twirled it as I noticed the third thing. Draco was laying next to me which led me to sit up and notice the fourth thing. I had been laying in Draco's bed. I saw Crabbe and Goyle snoring in a bunk bed. I shook my head as I slipped my feet onto the floor. Leaving the rose on the bed, I tried to get out of the bed without making a sound. I didn't want to wake any of them up. It didn't work. Just as I reached the door, Draco's eyes fluttered open, and he sat up on his elbow.

"It's early. Did their snoring wake you?" he asked picking up the rose and crossing the room. He stood looking down on me in the darkness. I couldn't see him clearly, but I could easily tell that he wasn't wearing a shirt. I breathed deeply as he stood close to me leaving me between the door and his bare, chiseled...toned chest.

"Maybe. I can't be sure. Probably."

His quiet laugh made me nervous. I turned to open the door. He wasn't giving me any room to open it though. I sighed inwardly as I waited for him to move.

"You can always stay here. I'll send someone to pack your things." He suggested quietly.

"I'm not going to let a little first year girl rummage through my things. Besides, I don't want people to talk."

It was the best excuse I could come up with. I couldn't care less what people thought of me. It was a wonderful slytherin trait of me. I more cared about the fact that I'd been asleep next to Draco for hours-a little too close for comfort. Even though we'd been just as close the night before, I'd lost whatever I was feeling that night.

"What? It's not like we're doing anything up here." He put his hands on my waist like he wanted to contradict his own words, "It's better than leaving you downstairs in the common room. I'm just a friend helping a friend."

The sudden quote of friends with benefits popped into my head and I cringed. I turned the doorknob. He sighed and moved away from the door.

"I guess I'll meet you before we get on the train?" he asked sitting back on his bed in the darkness.

"Yeah...I'll meet you downstairs."

I was well aware of the plan for a while. Because of my father's new j-o-b, I have to stay at the Malfoy Manor. I'd been reluctant about the whole thing. I guessed that now we'd met some kind of truce. I still intended to bring it up with him again, but I was just too scatter-brained right now to focus on the issue. I really had no choice in the matter. I'd decided that I would rather walk in comfortably than being dragged by my toes. I shook my head as I walked over to the girls' dorm. It was pitch dark. The candles weren't even lit. Odd.

Then it wasn't so odd when I saw Pansy with a single candle in her hand. This transaction should've been menacing, but it just made her look like an ugly Ken doll. I wiped my face with my hand. I was still exhausted.

"So, you think you can pull a fast one with Draco, huh?" she said whispering. She wasn't threatening. I could barely hear her. It strained my ears if that's what she was going for. I doubt it.

"I don't have time for this, Pansy. We leave in a couple of hours. Can you just move?" I asked dryly.

She did some kind of shriek-growl-moan thing. It hurt my ears. I sighed and walked around her. I was all too wary until she pulled at my ponytail.

"Oh!" I twisted back and poked her in the eye. She cried as she turned away throwing the candle up. I cupped both hands to cover a gasp from my mouth as the candle touched her hair. The wax dripped down her short black locks. They caught fire and her head was blazing. I looked for my wand in my pockets. I'd left it in my coat. It must be with Draco.

I tried fanning it. That seemed to make it worse.

She continued screaming."Ahhh-ahhhh!AHHHHHHHHHH!"

The rest of the girls woke up. They came out of their rooms to speculate. I moved my hands trying to maneuver around the jumping girl.

"OH! STOP-DROP-AND-ROLL!"I shouted and pushed her to the ground. I used my foot to jostle her back and forth on the floor. Then the carpet caught on fire too. From the back of my head, water rushed past me and splashed Pansy's entire body. I turned around to see Kim giving me a stern look.

"Hey, I didn't do this." I tried to explain. The girls headed back into their rooms murmuring. I turned back to Pansy. Her hair was in ruins. There were only a few patches left. There were lots of black clumps on the floor. She looked terrible. Her thick layer of makeup ran down her face and her hair was decimated. I felt bad for her for a few minutes. I stood with her before her friends came, and then I headed up to my room. It was now 5:10 am. I had to start packing. Kim wouldn't stop shooting question after question at me. I eventually told her the story in one swift breath.

"Look, I wasn't doing anything. I was just walking back up to my room when she comes out all boogey man on me. She had all the other candles burned out and she had one candle. I told her I don't have time for this. She just kept on going. I tried to walk past her, she pulled my hair, hands went flying, she tossed the candle, and it landed in her hair. She should learn a valuable lesson from this."

Kim sat on her bed as she held her scarf in her hand. She'd done all her packing already. She nodded at me, but her eyebrows were tight. "Pansy is a bit dead in the brain." she considered.

"Tell me about it."

From then we didn't talk much. We just traded a few tops that she'd like to have over the break, and that was it. I headed down stairs an hour and a half later. The train left at 7 o'clock. Pansy and her friends were glaring daggers at me. The boys looked smug, maybe even slightly pleased. The most distinctive one was Draco. I walked straight past him. He followed me and signaled someone to carry my luggage. I didn't oppose.

"So, I hear you set Pansy's hair on fire" He said with his evil smirk.

"_I_ didn't set her hair on fire. She set her own hair on fire. The idiot. Then she's just standing there screaming as it bursts into flames. Karma's a bitch." I told him as we walked up the stares and let them shift to the main corridor. He laughed as we got to the top of the stairs. I heard someone call me.

"Hey, Em!"

Harry and Hermione ran up to me. I smiled and hugged them both. "I'll miss you two."

"We'll miss you too. Ron will miss you as well. We all got you this. Together. A gift from me, Harry, Ron, and Ginny." Hermione said handing me a small red and green box. "Don't open it until Christmas day."

"Sure" I nodded and put it in my bag. They waved me out the main doors. Draco helped me into the carriage and it began moving.

"I thought we were past the rebellious phase." he groaned.

I glowered. "You thought that was a phase?"

He nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I snickered a bit and corrected him. "No, I actually like them. If you got to know them, then you would too."

He exhaled deeply as he looked at the carriage. He seemed to be thinking again. "I can't protect you forever."

I knitted my eyebrows. "I don't understand. Why would you need to?"

He touched my lips. His fingers traced my bottom lip. My body tensed. I sighed despite myself. I wanted to look away, but I was paralyzed, partially by my stupid nerves, and partially by his stony eyes.

"It won't be the same at home. You need to show a little self-control." he said softly. He set his hand down and released me from his narcotic gaze.

So now I was the delinquent? How wonderful. I couldn't imagine what trouble I could get into at Draco's house. It'll probably be a lot of meetings going on. I'd probably just sit in a guest room and read all day. I made sure to let all the air out of my lungs before they exploded. It would've been much better for me to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. I'd always spent them here before, and my parents sent me about 3 dozen presents. They never were home for any of the holidays. Sometimes they would say that they would be, but then, they'd change their plans at the last minute and made up for it with another dozen gifts. Sure, I would almost never wear the same thing twice. It didn't really matter to me, them being gone, but I was sometimes crushed by how hollow it made me. I was used to them never being there. It would be strange spending so much time with them now. On the other hand, they might be just as busy. Oh well. I decided not to think about it too much on the ride home. Draco talked to Crabbe and Goyle the entire time while I took a much needed nap. Pansy wore me out and the day had barely even begun.

Someone shook me when it was time to get off the train. It was probably Crabbe or Goyle. The idiot shook me right off the seat. I fell face first onto the floor.

"Oof. Ow. What the hell!" It just occurred to me how angry I was these days; I wondered why that was. I didn't give too much to the thought though. Draco smirked and pulled me out of the compartment without getting our bags. He probably had some first years get them. Crabbe handed me my bag as we got off the train. We all walked up to the Malfoys who greeted us.

"Draco!" Mrs. Malfoy hugged her son tightly. I could've sworn I saw him blush under his pale skin. She then turned to me."And you, you must be the lovely Emma Paniettiere. Wonderful to finally meet you."

She pulled me and Draco along. Somehow our suite cases found their way to us. She talked nonchalantly about how I would love the mansion and how Christmas will be just as wonderful as my past Christmas's. She seemed nice enough, but she was a death eater. I'd be sure to keep my guard up. Then again, technically, I was too, or would be, so I couldn't really talk. Narcissa probably trusted me completely. Or maybe she didn't trust me at all. Draco was sure to tell her about how difficult I'd been over the past few weeks. I made a mental note to behave myself. I didn't want to get on the Malfoys' bad side (I can live with living on Draco's bad side, but not his parents).

The Malfoy Manor was even more amazing in person. Sure, I'd heard it was huge and very, very expensive, but you had to be there. It was colossal. You could tell from the outside that there were many different wings. The old stones made it look like a mini palace. The front door opened on its own as we entered someone took my coat, my black hat. I still wore gloves. They were black and had open fingers. The slytherin symbol was on the top, but they went well with my black skinny jeans and my grey sweater. I saw the double stairs on the sides. Beneath them was another hall with many doors. It led all the way through one ball room, to a kitchen, to a sun room, to the backyard. I saw astonished because there were multiple ballrooms on other floors of the house. And there was a second kitchen where the family could sit and talk. The one we passed through was for the chefs. The backyard was dazzling. There was a large pool that had a shallow and deep end. It was frozen over to make an ice rink. There were lots of lounge chairs and tables set out. They weren't covered in snow, courtesy of the elves. Torches stood everywhere but weren't lit. We made our way up many stairs. On the way, we passed a huge library. My house had a library, but it was half the size. There were so many books. I doubted that even Hermione had read this many. Narcissa eventually finished the tour; it had taken about an hour until we got back down to the front door. My parents were waiting for me.

"Emma! How are you darling?" My mother hooted as she embraced me. I hugged her back unsurely. It was hard for me to believe that she missed me that much. My father stood farther away than my mother had.

"I hope that you've been keeping up your grades." He said sternly. He was as distant as I was.

"Yeah." I narrowed my eyes and sneered. I didn't think that he could see my face because he turned and walked up a side staircase. My mother followed him after she kissed me on the cheek.

"We'll have dinner with you later. We have so much to catch up on." She flashed her eyes toward Draco and beamed at me. I rolled my eyes as the room cleared itself. Then, there was only me and Draco.

"I'll show you to your room." He said and pulled me by my waist. I stayed silent not really thinking as he led us up to the second floor and down the second hall to the third door. "Here we are."

He opened the door to reveal the place that I'd be staying. There was a queen sized bed in the shape of a circle. There was netting that draped from the ceiling down to the floor. There was an auburn dresser that was taller than me on the wall. The closest door matched. The entire room was colored silver and black. The sheets were silver with black lining. There was a large metal lamp that looked like a silver vine with leaves. There were double doors that led to a balcony. There were several potted plants that sat in the cold weather outside. I kept the doors closed. It was warmer than I would've thought. You would think that a place like the Malfoy Manor would have some kind of eeriness, but besides the colors of dark green and black, and blood red, it was pretty normal. As normal as Draco's house could've gotten. I opened the netting to sit on the bed. Draco joined me.

"Satisfied?" He asked.

"It's fine." I replied and closed my eyes as I laid back.

"Good." He said.

Then it was quiet again. The same silence from the night before. It was maddening. It calmed me last night, but now it unnerved me. I peeked through my eyelashes. Draco was staring at me. I sat back up.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"You really have no idea, do you?" he asked.

"No, that's why I asked you, genius."

He shook his head. "No, Harry, Ron...Zabini...I didn't figure it out either until a few days ago."

"Okay, you lost me."

He continued to survey me. I exhaled and kicked off my long leather boots. When I was finished he was still staring.

"Is there any food around here?" I asked trying to distract him. I got up and looked in the mirror to see if there was anything on my face. He pressed a button on the nightstand. A little elf popped into the room.

"Master Malfoy?" It bowed very low.

"Can you bring Emma here some food. Some fruit. Grapes would be best."

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy." The elf disappeared.

I turned. "Why fruit?"

"You're love them. Your favorite are grapes and strawberries. Don't think I'm not as observant as you."

I considered that and then plopped back on the bed. "Sure." He then got up. This was very awkward. I attempted to fill the silence with a conversation. "So, what are we going to do? If you don't have anything in mind, then I'd like to scope out your library. I'm sure there are a few things that I'd be interested in."

"Oh, no. I'm going to be keeping you busy. Tomorrow, we'll go ice skating. If that's alright with you."

"Oh, no." I copied him." I don't know how to skate. So what's next on the list?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, Crabbe and Goyle are going to be here. I guess they'll come up with something."

He sat back on the bed. I watched him watch me. My stomach tightened. He leaned closer to me. My hands grabbed handfuls of the silk sheets beneath me. My heart was skipping beats. Then, pop!

The elf was carrying a platter of different kinds of fruits, the majority being grapes of course. He bowed one more time, left the plate on the bed and popped into thin air again. I sighed in relief and reached for the food to calm myself. I didn't look at Draco for the fear of his expression. My heart rate didn't slow until someone knocked on the door.

Draco opened it. Crabbe was standing there. I could barely hear their whispers. All I could hear was Draco say, "No, that's a terrible idea you idiot...No, I'll go. It won't kill us to go without her for one meeting...there will be others...well, tell them that she's not feeling up to it...then tell them she's not ready...she's not and you know that… Fine. I'll be down in a minute."

He closed the door and looked at me. I bit down into a strawberry and stared hard at my plate.

"I have to go. I have to..well, I have to go."

"Okay." That was perfectly fine with me. This atmosphere was too much to take. I was more than willing to be free of it. He left the room without another word and I set the plate onto the nightstand and curled up to sleep.

Ring, ring, ring!

"Ugh" I groaned and turned to the little bell shaking in my face.

There was a little elf standing there in her little rags. "Master Malfoy calls you down for dinner Miss."

I sat up and wiped my face. Did I sleep that entire time?

"He sends his courtesy with this dress as an invitation."

She pointed to the dress laying in a chair. It was a bright red dress. It was kinda red orange. I shook my head and got ready silently. I was down in the dining room within ten minutes. My hair was curled and I wore matching lip gloss with the same shade as my dress. Everyone was waiting for me in the first floor dining room. I took a case of stairs that led straight to the room. Everyone was in classy clothes. My mother was wearing a red and green velvet dress with dark leggings. The men had suits. I wondered if all dinners were going to be this formal. I was sidetracked by that when I realized that the only seat open was between my mother and Draco. They'd chosen to sit in the smaller room. The round table was large but had few seats. Clockwise, there was Lucius, Draco, the empty seat, my mum, my dad, and Narcissa. I quietly took my seat as Lucius began speaking.

"Hello, Emma. Now that everyone is here, we can begin our meal. So, tell me Emma, how has your stay at Hogwarts been so far? I hear that you are a slytherin with Draco."

"Yeah," I saw my dad give me a stern look. I knew what it meant. Look like the perfect child, Emma. I smiled brightly and answered Mr. Malfoy,"To think that we've been in the same house all these years and barely had a conversation."

Oh, the joys of the holidays.

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Okay! That was _Joys of the Holidays_! Did you like it? I read this and it makes me sad...because of the end of this story. Anyways...R&R. Got to chapter 5. It's right there. You don't have to wait for it. So go...Now...are you still reading this?


	5. Merry Christmas

I really like this chapter. Why? It's just very cute to me. Tell me if you think so too. Draco seems a bit OOC, but that's okay.

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Chapter 5-Merry Christmas

_Blue flames flared past my eyes like a scorching flame thrower. I gasped at the chills it sent through me. I should've been moving, running to get out of the way of the attack. But my legs were too numb to help me escape. I stared down, horrified hoping to take at least one step to get away. I idly placed my hand on my torso. Suddenly, my arms went numb, freezing in place, and now unmovable. My head pounded and my ears thrummed like people were screaming in my ear, even though the only thing that pulsed the air was the silence. My ears burned as I gazed up. "Draco…" I rasped._

Cold fingers touched my clammy skin. "Yes, love?"

I gasped out of my dream.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked with his usual smirk. I pulled my hair into a ponytail with my headband.

"Yeah, yeah, fine."

"Dreaming of me?"

"Tuh, you wish."

He chuckled and pulled me out of the sea of covers. He raised his eyebrows, his grin widening. I followed his eyes. I realized that I was wearing a teeny tiny gown that was slightly see-through in the dim light. My cheeks flushed as I grabbed my blue silk rode lying on the chair. I struggled to find something to draw Draco's attention away from my chest.

"So," I asked, "what do you have planned for today…sky diving?"

An elf sat a plate of breakfast on my dresser. Draco picked up a waffle and took a bite. "No, no… it's much too cold for that. I was thinking something more along the lines of… ice skating."

I stared at his reflection in the mirror and frowned. I took a waffle and bit into it. I was almost positive that I'd mentioned that I had no idea how to skate. So I looked at him to mention it again. "But I can't skate."

He grinned evilly. Yeah, I definitely told him. He loves to torture me. "You'll learn. I'll be waiting near the garden." He snatched up another waffle and left.

_'Great. That's just brilliant.'_ I plopped down on my bed to glower at the ceiling. Then the door reopened. Draco leaned against the door.

"I forgot to mention," he stepped back in and leaned on the dresser, "You have a few new dresses for the Christmas Ball tonight."

I smiled sweetly at him inching my arms behind me. "Draco?"

"Yes, love?"

"Get the hell OUT!"

I threw a banana at his head. He slammed the door shut, laughing loudly as I heard his footsteps fade. I sighed as I watched the smashed banana plop down the side of my door piece by piece.

And then he was gone again. I shook my head and opened my wardrobe. Sure enough there were at least 3 dozen new dresses hanging from the front rack. _'Yeah, a few. Right.'_ I pushed them out of the way to grab a pair of dark blue jeans and a pink shirt that said- 'Love comes in different shades of red'. A glance in the mirror disturbed me because I was grinning more than a second year with a school girl crush. I cleared my throat and pressed my lips into a hard line. I had given a thought to…it, but there was just no way it was happening.

"Ready. You know, if you wanted to murder me, you could have just done it in my room. I would've been quiet." I joked as he continued to pulled me through the every-color rose bushes. I plucked a blue one off and another grew in its place.

"Stunning, isn't it?"

"Yeah" I mumbled as I sniffed the rose.

"Not the flower," he groaned," look!"

A lake lay between a row of mountains and a bed of frozen tulips. The entire lake was frozen over with a deep blue shine. It was shiny smooth even though it snowed like there'd been a blizzard.

"Wow, let's go." I said sarcastically and sat on the frozen ground. "You know, if you wanted to murder me, you could have just done it in my room. I would've been quiet." I repeated.

"Tempting- but no. You'll love this." he told me as he intertwined his fingers in mine. I should've felt uneasy about it, but I didn't. Spending every day with Draco so far, I was getting used to him. I'm sure he treats every girl like this. I ignored it. It looked as if no one had touched it. Draco began pulling out ice skates. I shook my head furiously.

"No, I already told you. I don't know how to ice skate." I whined.

"That's why I'm going to teach you." He replied and pulled me down onto a bench. He tugged at my boots. "It's about the only muggle thing that I enjoy."

"No," He simply shook his head and continued to yank them off. "If I fall and my head splits open, it'll be your fault."

He slipped the perfectly fitted skates on. I folded my arms in a huff and looked away from him as his pulled his own skates on. I knew it was childish, but I really didn't want to make a fool out of myself in front of Draco.

I tightened the laces on my skates and Draco pulled me up. I wobbled slowly onto the ice.

"That's it. Nice and slow." He ordered.

I slid one foot in front of the other. The best thing that I thought to do was to remember when Hermione was teaching me to roller blade for our Muggle Studies project at the beginning of the year. It was extraordinarily difficult, but Draco was surprisingly patient. He guided me, suppressed his laughs when I fell, and, somehow, made it fun for me. I was actually enjoying myself until more people began skating toward us.

Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Pansy glided over to us like pros. Draco met them half-way. Seeing the five of them together- graceful, slightly mischievous, and all ridiculously rich- it made me feel a bit detached…almost jealous. They were all decked out in expensive sweaters and shiny new skates. They all seemed so comfortable with each other. It only made things worse when Pansy wrapped her arm around Draco's neck. She laughed a little too hard and glared a bit too much for my taste. And then Zabini gave a glare colder than Pansy. I would've thought that Blaise and I would get along. He looked back at Draco and nodded.

They all talked in muted voices, so I couldn't hear. Pansy shook her at something Draco said. Her fingers walked up and down his neck. She went in for a kiss. He pushed her away. I turned towards the mountains and grinned with deep satisfaction. Draco finally called me over.

"Emma! Come on."

Still smiling, I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "I don't think I can make it that far."

"Try."

So, I did. I made it about 4 inches before slipped and fell, butt first, onto the cold ice. Pansy snorted. I could see the smirk creep onto his face as he slid to a stop two centimeters in front of me.

"Come on. Get up." Draco said as he pulled my hands.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked myself more than anyone else, but he answered all the same.

"No."

So I let him pull me up. He held a wide smile on his lips as he beckoned me to move. It was almost as infectious as Harry's smiles. The major difference though was that Harry was sincere, and Draco was just taunting. I decided to watch my feet as the blades slowly cut through the perfectly sculpted floor. My knees shook slightly which only made it more difficult.

"That's it. Just slide one foot in front of the other." he ordered gingerly. It didn't work. My back foot jammed in one place and pulled me down. Draco didn't let go of me, so he came tumbling down right on me.

"Ahh! Ow!" I cried. My butt was cold, and I was being crushed by the very person who put me into this dilemma.

The others laughed. I could feel my cheeks burning up. Not because of the laughs, but because I could see the very shade of Draco's grey eyes with gentle flecks of silver. I could feel his breath on my cheeks, and I could smell his cologne. I could feel the intensity in every part of him. He stared at me for what seemed like forever. I felt a small tug. The same feeling that I had in the common room. The tug that pulled me closer to him. I picked my head up. He leaned his face closer to mine.

Then he was gone. Pansy pulled him up. "Poor Draco, darling. Why do you put up with that clumsy girl anyway? She causes all kinds of accidents. Are you hurt?" Blah, blah, blah. I actually lifted myself up on my own.

His foggy breath puffed on my cheeks. "Ready?" He asked in a whisper, having completely forgotten about Pansy.

I nodded as he put each of his hands on my waist. I pulled my hands out of my pockets and placed them lightly on his arms. He pulled me closer to him and began skating backwards. His eyes penetrated mine. My blushing cheeks burned me as I stared down at my sluggish feet.

"There you go." He whispered. He stepped into the field and lifted me out of the lake.

"Thank you." I gazed up at him. His face was scarily intense. I could have sworn that his face was inching toward mine.

"Could we get going, please?" Pansy whined. After a few seconds, Draco nodded and pulled off his skates. I did the same and we all headed back to the house.

Pansy pulled me away from the group. We continued to walk, lagging behind the boys. I bit down on my bottom lip to listen to her. I owed her that much since I was in fact falling for...

"Do you remember what we talked about?" She mumbled in her shrilly voice. I didn't answer, so she continued. "I told you to stay away from Draco. What are you doing, testing me?"

"Pansy-I'm not" I tried to explain.

"Ah-ah. Pansy's talking," I rolled my eyes at her third person monologue, but she continued talking, "In April, when I turn 15, Draco and I are going to be officially betrothed..."

_'Betrothed?'_

"You're not going to ruin this for me. Okay? Okay."

She ran to catch up with the group glancing back at me." Well, see ya tonight...Em." She snickered and walked into the house. I seethed inwardly and stomped in behind them. Draco left with the group, leaving me with all of my jumbled thoughts. I ran up to my room and splashed some water on my face. It was still red, but it would have to do. I sighed and plopped down into a chair. Who did she think she was? Pansy shouldn't feel threatened. They would still be married in the end. Who did she think she was, even if I did like Draco?

***Later****

"What is this?" I wondered out loud. There was a little pink box sitting on my dresser. I picked it up and the silver lace fell to the floor. I lifted the top to find a beautiful diamond necklace placed on an ivory pillow. It had to be at least 20 carrots. I sucked in an uneven breath and put it on my neck.

It went perfectly with my long silk satin dress. I straightened out my dress with my gloved hands and smiled. I admired myself in the double wide mirror for a few seconds.

"I have to admit it- I look gorgeous." I murmured to myself.

"I completely agree. The gloves make you look kinda Old Hollywood."

I looked around shocked. There was no one in the room with me.

"Over here genius." My eyes followed the voice. It was a painting of a small girl with blond curls and light grey eyes. She wore an elegant blue velvet dress. She couldn't have been more than 12. She was too small to fit in the frame that she was standing in.

"Um, thank you."

She winked. "Sure." I walked closer to the painting. She looked around as if she was making sure no one was looking. "You're Emma Paniettiere, right?" she asked in a whisper.

I nodded. "Who are you?"

Her lips stretched into a smirk. I blinked twice. It looked so familiar. "Follow me." She then jumped into another painting. My eyebrows drew together in confusion. She groaned, "Well, come on. You need to see something."

I followed her as she jumped from painting to painting. She led me up a flight of stairs. She led me to a door. I walked into the room cautiously. It was completely green and silver. It had a slytherin crest on the head board. This was definitely Draco's room.

"Right here." The girl stood in a tiny frame sitting on a desk.

"Why are we in Draco's-?"

"Come on. Open this drawer here."

I shook my head but obeyed. I walked over to the desk and pulled the little silver knob.

"Emma, what are you doing in here?"

I shut the door and whisked around. "Draco, I was…looking for you." I lied. He wasn't really listening anyway. He gazed at me as if he was suddenly far away. He walked forward until we were face to face.

"You look beautiful." He said. I smiled and touched the necklace. "Only because of the gift you gave me."

"Ugh, gag me." the girl cried out.

"Um, who is she?"

Draco picked the picture up. He smiled at the girl. There was a gleam in his eye, like pride. No one has ever known Draco for having pride in anyone but his family. "My sister, Danielle."

'_Bingo.'_

He turned the picture upside down and Danielle tumbled down. "Hey!" He laughed softly and took my hand walking down to the end of the hall.

"She loved events like this. She was the shining star, but considering that she's not here…" He touched the large double doors and they flew open.

"Announcing Miss Emma Clarissa Paniettiere." A loud voice bellowed.

The ballroom was spectacular. It was littered with gold and diamonds. Chandeliers hung down from the high ceilings. I could see all the dresses twirling across the floor. The entire room was glowing.

My fingers tightened around the marble banister. Everyone looked towards me. I saw various people whispering and gasping, and a few were even glaring. I wrapped my arm around Draco's and descended the stairs.

Pansy was quick to take Draco away from me. She fought with her big puffy green dress as she hurried over to us. "Draco, would you like to dance?"

I pulled my lips into a grin. Draco looked at me for approval, so I nodded. I wasn't going to get between Pansy and her man. It wasn't like me. He kissed my gloved hand and grinned, taking Pansy away. She gave me the ugliest glare that I'd ever seen. I exhaled slowly through my nose.

"I could swear that that was her normal face." I murmured.

"That's not very nice." My mum said from behind me. She looked extravagant in her red dress and long brown curls up in a bun.

"No, but I think it's true. The girl hates me all because of…Draco."

She curled her lips trying to suppress a smile. "Well, he is a handsome boy, don't you think darling? You should give him a chance. You like him don't you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who said that I-"

"I'm your mother. It's instinctive for me to know when you're over thinking things. Besides, do you really think that I'd be away as much as I am and not have someone watching your every move?"

I laughed. I never thought that my parents had been keeping tabs on me. I loved my parents, but I thought that they were out of touch. I could honestly say that I was dead wrong. "So, what exactly am I thinking?"

She put her index finger on her jaw and smiled. "Well, I know that you like the boy, but you don't want to. That's just a simple fact of you being difficult about _everything_. Something that should feel right to everyone else feels wrong to you. I know that you don't want to deal with Pansy. I know that there's something else holding you back, but I don't quite know just yet," She looked at me and her smile widened, "and I know that Draco fancies you and that he's going to come over here to ask for a dance."

Surely enough, someone laid their hand, palm up on my shoulder. "Would you like to dance?" Draco asked in my ear.

I grinned and put my hand in his. He span me around in a circle and pulled me in. We waltzed across the floor.

"I take in that you like your gift?" He said spinning me away and pulling me closer than before.

"No," He frowned and moved us further to a door. "Only because I didn't get you anything."

His smirk came back. "Well then, I guess that means you owe me."

We stopped once we made it to two open ivory doors. He led me onto the balcony. There was a massive amount of stars circling a full moon. I'd imagined a bunch of werewolves running amok tonight. Not very romantic, but I felt sorry for everyone who wanted to have a nice Christmas and it was ruined by an uncontrollable urge to become an animal. It made me appreciate how happy I was. I didn't think that I deserved it, but I was enjoying myself. I wasn't blind. I'd seen the newspapers that were solely based on the conspiracy of Harry. I knew people were dying because of a certain dark lord. I knew that most of the people in the room were taking a part in the killings.

I took a breath and turned up to Draco. He was looking up at something. I followed his eyes. There was tiny mistletoe hovering above our heads. I looked back at him to see his smirking face.

"Merry Christmas." He murmured.

We gazed at each other. His grey eyes burned my own russet orbs. His smirk slowly faded away as he leaned his head down and pressed his lips to mine.

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Read Chapter 6! Please and Thank You!


	6. The Inevitable

Yey, so you've come back. I'm glad you did. Tell me who you are and your favorite thing about my story. Is there something that you wanna see happen? Tell me soon. I've got about 4 more chapters before I can begin writing the sequel. Sequel? What? There's a sequel? Yeah, there is. It's a WIP. We all know how I am about those. It's coming though. So keep reading and keep Emma in your hearts.

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Chapter 6-The Inevitable

I thought that after Christmas that it would be awkward between me and Draco, but he acted as if nothing had happened. He was the same as ever. He came to my room that morning, waited as I said goodbye to my parents, and sat in the train compartment taunting me while talking in codes to Crabbe and Goyle.

I wasn't looking forward to what Pansy would do if she found out. I'd run through the images of me being cold and naked in the forest. The same thing applied for Harry. My stomach twisted in a dozen knots as I saw him in the corridor looking out at Hagrid's hut.

Draco groaned as Harry and Ron approached us.

"Emma, how was your holiday?" Harry asked.

"I bet it was horrible." Ron said.

I hugged both of them despite the way Ron froze under my touch. "Actually," I glanced at Draco, "it wasn't that bad."

He looked pissed, but not too bad. He smirked. "I bet. Emma loves roses…and tulips…and mistletoe…"He mumbled the last part under his breath. Wagging his eyebrows, he walked around the three of us and headed down the corridor.

I clamped my jaw-dropped mouth. Harry and Ron stared at me very confused. Harry was the first to break the awkward silence. "Emma, what exactly happened over break?" he asked.

I shrugged and responded with the first thing that _wasn't_ a lie. "Oh, I tried to learn how to ice skate. I fell a few hundred times, crushed a few flowers along the way. He and his friends had a good laugh. Nothing too eventful."

They nodded and we went on to talk about their break. I wasn't going to tell them what happen. I was going to act like it never happened, just like Draco was doing before we got back to school. I'd still have to deal with him later though.

"Done catching up with you friends?"

I plopped down beside Draco. He was reading a roll of parchment.

"Oh yeah," I said sarcastically, "We had loads of fun. We talked about everything."

"Except the kiss." He countered.

"Except the kiss." I agreed. I frowned, glaring up at the ceiling as I sank down into the couch.

"Sooner or later, they're gonna find out." He said, folding the parchment and tossing it into the fireplace.

"Not if both parties keep their mouths shut." I countered.

"Emma, love, isn't that how we got into that mess in the first place?"

I rolled my eyes and hit him with a cushion. "Doesn't matter. It's not going to happen again, right?"

He laid his head against the back of the couch. I would've thought that he was considering letting it go if he didn't have that big stupid smirk on his face. Without warning, one of his legs flew over me so that he was on my lap. He put both hands on the head of the couch and leaned his face in.

"I know you want me. I can feel it."

I forced my heart back down my throat. "Yeah, sure. Only in your dreams." It came out as a pathetic mumble. He chuckled and ran his fingers down my cheek to my neck. His eyes were set there. I attempted to back away from him, but I wiggled my way all the way down so I was laying flat on my back. He was now on top of me. The grin on his face was maddening.

Over the rest of the break, I'd decided that I liked Draco. There was no use in denying it. I'm not exactly sure how, or even why, but I do. There were too many other things that I couldn't handle- Pansy, her friends, my friends…_and this!_The moment when Draco's smirk disappeared and he got closer to me. His lips touched mine is the sweetest way.

This was technically the third kiss we'd had. I just pushed it into the back of my mind and denied the whole thing. Draco was willing to play along with_that_. But this wasn't going to be the case this time. It was making me insane, and this is why.

He trails his lips down to my neck. There's a spot that releases a sigh from my lips. The nerves in my body become uncontrollable. My muscles can't get enough adrenaline. My hands trace every muscle on his stomach and feel his soft blond hair.

And then I realize what I'm doing. And then I realize what I'm feeling. And it's all because of him. And I can't take it.

"Draco…" It comes out as a whisper because I'm out of breath and his fingers inside of my shirt crawling up my spine are giving me goose bumps.

He sighs into my neck. "Yes?"

I release his hair and push against his chest. He sat back and I folded my calves under my thighs to sit up too. We stared at each other until I heard the common room door bolt open. Kids began flooding in from lunch. I stood up and walked to the starecase going to the girls' dorm.

"Draco. You're back."

I looked back even though I knew I shouldn't have. Pansy and her friends ran up to greet him. He glanced at me once running fingers through his platinum hair. Then he turned away and began talking to Pansy. He sat back in the chair and wrapped his arm around her. I scoffed and changed my path. I left the common room grabbing my coat and giving Pansy the coldest glare I could as I passed the horde. I huffed and sat on the edge of the lake.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kim asked taking a seat next to me.

"Why would you say that? I asked.

I didn't tell anyone about what happened over Christmas break. No one. I wasn't planning to either.

She shrugged with a grin. "I saw the way you were glaring at Pansy…and...I was kinda the one who kept Pansy away from you and Draco at the Malfoys' party. You know, after that night I thought you'd be on board, but noooo."

I gaped at her. I opened my mouth to respond, but I shut it because I really didn't know what to say. Her eyes narrowed studying my movement. I looked away from her quickly to avert giving away anything that I would regret. Instead, I studied the water. Kim clapped her hands together and hooted.

"Oh, see. I knew it. You like him. Otherwise, why would you keep running away like a complete idiot."

"You like someone, Em?"

I jumped to see Hermione walking over to us. She sat on the other side of me setting down her jumbo book.

"Yes," Kim answered for me, "And will you tell her that if the guy obviously likes her too, then she should go for it." Kim waved her hand between Hermione and me. Hermione pulled her eyebrows together and grinned obviously amused by how uncomfortable I obviously looked.

"Um, yeah. There's no use in delaying the inevitable." She agreed.

"But what would my friends think?" I countered.

"We're your friends." Kim scoffed.

"And Harry and Ron will be fine with it too." Hermione said.

"Ginny and Cody will be behind you too. One hundred percent. I know he likes you. Frankly, when I was with him, it was more physical. With you, he's actually a decent human being. You'll be good for him. You're different from the rest of the slytherins."

"Tuh, you didn't see him with that prude." I buzzed.

"Uh, yeah I did. He's only trying to make you jealous. Haven't you ever had a boyfriend before?" Kim argued.

"But-"

"Girl, just go. You're getting on my nerves. Jeez, you're almost completely hopeless."

"Almost?" Hermione and I asked in unison.

"No. No more stalling. Go and talk to him or I swear I will help Pansy and her idiot friends torture you."

I looked to Hermione for help. If anyone would be rational, she would. She lowered her shoulders and shook her head.

"You should at least give it a try. If it doesn't work, you can always break up with the guy."

I glared at both of them and sighed.

"You like him, don't you?" Hermione asked.

"Unfortunately…"

"Well…you should go then. Otherwise, the only person with the problem is you."

"Fine, fine."

I stood up wiping the snow off my pants and walked up the hill back towards the castle.

"So, who's this guy again?" Hermione whispered to Kim.

I shook my head. They _were _right. I was being extremely difficult. I thought of the first few weeks after I'd gotten the letter from my parents. I was being a complete bitch. Draco's been a saint (as much of a saint as a slytherin prince aka future death eater can be). It wouldn't be that bad.

Then I remembered. Pansy. The named screamed in my head as my knuckles made their way to Draco's door. She was like a leech that couldn't get enough blood. I didn't know what to do about her. She was always there. Draco loved it too.

I turned away from the door. I bit down on my lip, contemplating what I should do. It felt like two alter egos yelling at me in my head.

'_You are not chickening out.'_

'_Yes. I am._' I argued with my mind.

"Are you gonna stand there all day?"

I pivoted on my toes. Draco raised one eyebrow while he stood in the doorway. He motioned for me to come in.

I sat on his desk crossing my legs. I was surprised at how much my stomach churned and twisted into dozens of knots, trying to kill all the butterflies that resided in it.

"Here to give me more mixed signals?" he asked casually sitting on his bed.

I looked at my twirling thumbs. "No."

He waited and waited…and waited. I didn't know how to start. He wasn't making it easy either. I silently begged for something, anything to break the silence.

There was a knock on the door followed by a, "Draco. Come on. I'm sorry for what I said about Panty- I mean Paniettiere. Come on. You're no fun anymore."

_Scratch that. Can I please take that back? Silence is fine._

I sighed and began to get up. "I'll leave you two to your business." I murmured.

"No, stay. I'm sure you didn't come here to stare at your hands. Something's obviously eating at you so say it already." He pulled me onto the bed and put a silencing spell on the door.

"Why does it matter? You've got Pansy." I hissed.

He stared at me for a good ten seconds before he busted out laughing. I frowned at him.

"It's not funny."

"Yes it is actually. Pansy isn't nearly as important as she thinks. You out rank her in more ways than one-you being second in line to become a death eater being the most important. If you said the word, the other heirs could have her out of this school within the hour."

He leaned against the silent pounding of the door and stared at me. I could see his taunting smirk, but his grey eyes gave a completely new atmosphere to the room.

I rolled my eyes. "Draco, you and her are joined at the hip. The prince and his princess…his sick…twisted…princess."

He sighed, "How do I explain," he looked at the ceiling and back down at me. "Before you became an heir, everyone thought it was going to be me and Pansy…until you came along."

I shook my head confused. "So…"

He sighed again. "So…Everyone adores you Emma. You're an imbecile if you haven't seen it yet." He waited for me to say I had, but I hadn't. I tiled my head and combed my fingers though my long brown curls.

"Now I highly doubt that." I mumbled. My voice cut off its volume. I lowered my eyes as Draco made his way over to me. His fingers ran through my hair. He climbed into the bed laying me down. I didn't even flinch when we pressed our lips together, sealing my fate. No use in delaying the inevitable.

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It's all so inevitable, like how your reviews. R&R! I can't give you what you want if you don't tell me. ^_^


	7. Secrets

Chapter 7-Secrets

"Mmh…Draco…come on-Draco…I'm gonna be late for class."

"So…"

"No, really, I have to go." I kissed Draco one more time before I slid off the desk and fixed my hair. Draco gently tugged at my hips. I shook my head at him and smiled. "McGonagall will kill me if I'm late again. Not to mention the fact that Hermione's getting suspicious."

He rocked back in the wooden chair. A little bit of light hit his face from the open window. "Like I care. People are going to find out eventually. Granger probably already knows."

"Yeah, we'll see." I said picking up my bag. I headed towards the door.

"Why do you hang out with those nargles anyway?" He asked as I turned the old knob.

"Nargles?" I laughed raising my brown eyebrow.

"No idea. Looney Lovegood can't shut up about it."

I sighed, gave him a quick peck on his scowling lips and hurried off to class. Part of me was enjoying sneaking around with Draco. I've become all but addicted to the adrenaline rush I'd get when he pulls me away during crossing periods or when he'd send me a note during class telling me to me him somewhere I'd never even known existed. Being endowed to be with him wasn't what I thought it would be.

The feeling seemed to disappear the minute that I took my eyes off of him though. People talk in slytherin, but Pansy still didn't know about me and Draco. There had to be at least half a dozen heirs at Draco's party. Even if Kim got Pansy away from us there was still Crabbe, Goyle, Jake, Zabini, and her. Conspiracy theories weren't really on my list of priorities. But I don't care how much he supposedly adored me; it's been Draco and Pansy for a long time. I didn't expect that to change that easily. I know that I'm supposed to be with him, but I had to think it was my choice, not the slytherin system. So, I did what I was supposed to do while having fun doing it. Going out with Draco for a few months until they find a better, eviler suit for him wasn't too bad. I really had no choice in the matter anyway.

_Last Night~_

"_But Dad." I tried to reason. I'd snuck back to my house with the intent of giving it one last go before I let the heirs pull me completely in._

"_No buts, Emma Clarissa. It's already done. We've been through this." He waved his hand across his chest in protest. His stern face wrinkled up with worry lines. He'd been working hectically trying to find a mythical herb for a potion to be presented to Voldemort._

"_Dad, you would really do this to me, your only daughter?" I cried._

"_Are you really going to do this to us, you mother and father?"_

"_Why do you think I agreed to it in the first place?" I screamed._

"_Don't raise your voice at me. I've done everything I can for you. I will do whatever it takes to keep my wife and my ungrateful daughter safe. You should learn the meaning sacrifice."_

"_Yeah, I'm only sacrificing my entire future."_

"_It's not like you're a death eater-"_

"_Yet."_

_He set his long roll of parchment down and pulled me into his big brown leather chair. He leaned back on the edge of his desk. His eyes bore into mine with fury and understanding. "Clarissa, you are the apple of my eye. I have and am doing all that I can. You have to meet me halfway. Please, he will kill you if you don't do this. I just need you to do this for me, for now. I promise that after I crack this potion that we will leave and go into hiding. In the meantime, be happy. Try to be nice and I'm sure he'll return it. If you do as you're told, the Dark Lord will trust you and you won't have to marry Draco."_

_Wrong, he'll kill you, daddy dearest. This entire family was faced with their own ultimatum. My dad was a death eater, I was an heir and betrothed to Draco, and who knew what horrid things my mother was put face to face with. It was just another secret that was being withheld._

_I took a deep breath and nodded. "Hurry up then."_

_He smiled a tired smile at me and went to attend to the steaming cylinder._

I stepped into class the exact moment that the bell rang. I took my seat next to Hermione.

"Where have you been?" She whispered.

I narrowed my eyes playfully and asked in a voice matched to hers, "Where have _you_ been?"

"So, you were with your boyfriend?" She concluded.

I relaxed my eyes and laughed quietly. "Yeah."

She didn't smile. She didn't even grin. "When are you going to tell me his name?"

"When are you going to let me join the DA?" I countered. She'd told me about the DA on more than one occasion, but she (Ron) didn't trust me enough to actually let me be a part of it. I hated Umbridge as much as the next person. This would also be the perfect escape from my fellow demented heirs.

"Touché." She said. I could tell that she was trying to get something out, but Hermione was being, well, Hermione. She wrote down the spells that McGonagall had written on the board. "Okay, now don't take this the wrong way, but…you're being stupid."

"What?"

"You're late for class all the time. I see you every day and we've barely had a regular conversation in like two weeks. I think you should rethink this whole boyfriend thing. And about that, you won't even tell me who this guy is. You would think that you could at least give me a name."

"Yeah, well maybe you need to work on your communication skills." I spat fully glaring at her this time. I didn't really take it the wrong way. I just wished that she would stop prying. It was making things far worse than they needed to be. I'd been trying to make this believable.

To be honest, I didn't completely hate the situation. I just hated not having a choice. Draco was my boyfriend. He wouldn't have been my first choice- or even my 859th choice for the matter, but now he was. It was the fact that I absolutely had to be with him. I couldn't go off and get someone new. It was Draco until the day I died. Hermione thought that I had an out, but I didn't. I tried to make sure that no one would think that there was foul play if they did ever figure it out. Hermione would undoubtedly be the first.

"Maybe you should rethink your choice in guys. Then, you wouldn't have to be afraid to tell us that you're dating him."

"Why would I be afraid? Did you ever think that I think that you're just nosy?"

Hermione ignored me and slammed her book closed. "I think that _you think_ that it wouldn't be in your best interest if everyone knew that you were dating Draco Malfoy. He's going to hurt you." She hissed under her breath.

"I doubt that." I lied with as much ignorance as I could muster.

"Just like a slytherin." She mumbled. She opened a second book copying a new set of notes.

I gaped in shock. I had a feeling that she knew, but I wasn't prepared for her to say it like this. I remained silent for the remainder of the period. When the bell rang, Hermione gathered up her things and left the room silently. I refrained from slapping her. She didn't know anything, no matter how much she _thought_ she knew.

I watched as the class room emptied out. McGonagall walked over to me with both curious and apprehensive eyes. "Miss Paniettiere, is there a problem?"

I glanced at her briefly before tossing my bag on my shoulder and heading towards the door. "No, no problem at all."

Sure, Hermione had some points, but I focused on my father's words more than anything else. That's what everything would revolve around. I silently swore myself to my mental oath before entering the common room.

Cody greeted me with big, round happy eyes. I tried to smile, but it was a pathetic attempt. Hermione really messed me up. Once my carefully built façade was broken, it was hard to get it back up. I perked up and sat beside Cody on the couch with Kim.

"Hey Em." He said with his soft interior. Cody tried to be hard like the other slytherins, but the only thing that made him a slytherin was his sneakiness and how much he would lie to get out of trouble. "I'm glad I finally broke you away from your busy life with Draco."

I glance at Kim who shrugged and went back to her drawing. I brought my attention back to the boy and nodded. "Yeah, it's been a somewhat crazy week. What's been going on lately?"

"Well, Ginny forgave me. Right after Christmas break. I sent her 3 dozen roses and a bracelet with rubies. It was the last thing that I thought she would actually like. I tried to write a letter too, but it was terrible. I was going to throw it away, but Kim sent it without me knowing."

"The pleasure was all mine." Kim chirped without looking up.

That's what I liked about Kim and Cody. Cody was a kindhearted person who made mistakes but fixed them immediately. Kim was just plain unpredictable. She did as she pleased without the consent of anyone. I smiled at both of them and nodded.

"I still haven't told her about the mission, but you seem to be taking it so well." Cody said in awe.

"What? What mission?" I asked.

"Well, that's how I got to know Ginny. Originally, I was assigned to kill her."

"Wait, wait. _Kill_ her?"

"Yeah, but it didn't really work out...hasn't Draco-"

"Cody, shut up!" Kim exclaimed finally noticing what he was saying.

I glared at her. "What the hell is going on, Kim?"

She looked back at me, unsure if she should get her lungs ripped out by me or Draco.

"_Kimberly Cross_, if you don't tell me what Cody's talking about, so help me-"

"Fine, fine. Jake got a letter telling him to train Cody. The training was to kill someone close to Harry Potter, but not close enough that it would draw attention to us. Draco got a letter telling him to train you. He kind of...put it away. He said he was waiting until..."

Her voice faded out as I evoked a memory that I thought was irrelevant until now. "Danielle."

"I don't know a-" Kim began.

I grabbed her arm and bounded up the stairs leaving Cody in a confused and troubled mess. I went through the room looking for an item that I didn't need. I grabbed my wand and pulled Kim next to me.

"Emma, I think you're being a bit hasty."

"Shhh." I set a small, half used nail polish bottle onto the dresser and turned it into a port key. "Grab it." I ordered.

She glanced at me for a moment before nodding. We touched the port key and span in a million circles before we landed in Draco's room.

"Emma, what the hell are you doing?" She asked tip toeing around Draco's bed. I walked over to his desk. The little picture of Danielle was gone. I opened up the drawer fully to reveal the secret that lay within it. There was nothing. "Oh well, now we can leave. Maybe he just wanted to freak me out_."_

I frowned and touched the drawer. I wasn't about to have a dead end. I pulled the edges to make sure a-_Pop!_ The false bottom popped up revealing a letter folded neatly into an envelope. I pulled it out and began reading.

_Draco,_

_This is an urgent report on your next assignment. It will be the training of your betrothed, Emma Paniettiere. There is a list of spells for her to learn to be successful in a fight against her opponent. Don't forget to study the victim. She is exceedingly intelligent and resourceful. I'm sure you've made your acquaintances with Hermione Granger..._

I cut to the bottom.

_Lucius Malfoy_

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

I pivoted on my heel to come face to face with a furious Draco Malfoy.

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Alright, another chapter down. Cliff hanger...blahblahblah...just go to the next chapter. Just don't forget to review before you jump over to the next page. Every review is cherished. It's like a new best friend. ^_^ Peace, Love, and a Fresh new idea.


	8. Incendia Extraho

Hello everyone,

I know it's been about a month since I updated and I'm really sorry. The chapter is long and grueling, but I hope you like it. I've literally had no time to sit down and do the entire chapter like I usually do. I've tweaked it every now and again. If there is at least one grammatical error please tell me. I was at a lost for ideas for a while, but I think I've got it. I've always had the big pic, but it's everywhere in between that I'm having trouble with.

Thank you everyone who reviewed. I love them. I look to you to keep this story on my mind nonstop.

I don't own HP-I wish I did-I would've knocked those rodent's out of the box office(G-Force beat HBP...You believe it????)

Review. I love you guys when you do, and read on.

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Chapter 8- Incendia Extraho

I shoved the letter into my pocket as Draco entered his room. My hand gripped it so hard that I could hear my knuckles crack.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked walking closer to me, examining the room looking for anything out of place.

I moved back surreptitiously, to close the drawer without Draco noticing. "We were just dropping in. I came to get a few of my dresses. Kim wants them for... a new design. I saw some that could give her some ideas."

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" He said narrowing his eyes with his mouth in a tight smirk. He looked at Kim interrogatively. "Are you going to tell me the truth?"

Kim looked at me. I glared at her. At first she looked shaken by both of our menacing stares, but then she must have thought that mine was far worse because she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Draco. "I've got designer's block. I need some fresh ideas."

"Okay," he growled at her, "How about the truth now?"

"Maybe they are telling the truth young Master Malfoy."

We all turned to the door. My father was standing there filling the frame with his tall stature. He looked calm enough, but his eyes glowered at me.

I stayed in the back as the four of us made our way down to the dining room. I held a hand full of dresses just to keep up appearances. My mom was sitting with Draco's parents whispering angrily at each other. They all turned around quickly as they caught sight of us.

My mom looked like she was hyperventilating as she made her way over to me putting her hands on my shoulders. "Darling, what are you doing here? Aren't they supposed to be at school?"

"Yes, but it appears as thought they've broken out. I'll report it to Dumbledore as soon as they get back."

"Yeah...we were just-"Kim began. My dad cut her off.

"Kids will be kids. I'll send them back now." My father said smiling softly at my mother.

He then pushed the three of us out of the kitchen to the front hall. He handed each of us a handful of floo powder. Kim went first hurrying to get away from my father's subtle glares. Draco shook his head at me as he dropped the dusty blue ash down. I was about to go when my father stopped me.

I opened my mouth but he knew that I was about to lie through my clenched teeth. He put his hand up and I clamped my mouth shut.

"Don't. We've been through it Emma. I don't care why you were here _or_ what they were doing here with you, but whatever it is, it doesn't change anything. We had a deal _remember_?"

I clenched my jaws tighter and nodded. I took my arm back and stood in the fireplace. Without looking at my father I said. "Hogwarts," and dropped the floo powder.

The flames gulped me up and pushed me out in the dark common room. Draco, Cody, and Kim were standing there waiting for me. I tried to walk past them, but Draco gripped my arm.

I didn't say anything. I wanted to yell and scream, but I didn't. I simply took out the letter and placed it in the hand that wasn't draining all the blood from my arm. He dropped his hand and glanced down at the half crushed letter before bringing his stony eyes back up to continue staring at me. "Don't act like you didn't see this coming." He muttered as he tossed the papers into the fire.

"Yeah, sure. Of course I foresaw that I would have to murder Harry's best friend. That was _so_ obvious to me." I shot back sarcastically.

He watched the fire intently. I watched as the sides curled up and blackened in the flames. Deja vu. The orange and red flames danced in a way that I remembered so well. My first solitary moment with Draco. "You act like you're not a slytherin like the rest of us. You're no different, Emma. If you ask me, you're the most vile person in this room. Evil's in your blood."

"Is that a fact?" I scoffed crossing my arms tightly against my chest. Each word was a new blow to my already constricted chest.

He looked back at me while glaring daggers at me. "We start tomorrow- mornings, evenings, and all your breaks. You've got a lot of material to catch up on."

He then went up to the boys' dorm. I listened to the slam of Draco's door and jumped slightly. I inhaled and exhaled trying to relax my tense body. It didn't help at all.

"Em, look we just-" Cody began.

I shook my head and walked slowly up to my room and slammed the door. There was always some inkling of hope that I could find a way out of it. I wanted to pretend that I was just biding my time. Right at this moment, everyone had my back against a wall. It was this way or no way. Now this thing with Hermione... What had Draco expected to do, kill Hermione himself? Knowing Draco, that's probably exactly what he was planning. I groaned and pulled my bed sheets over my head, forcing myself to sleep.

_Tears ran down my face. I looked around the dark room. I saw lots of figures, but they seemed to be shadows instead of people. I didn't know why. I shook my head frantically with confusion. My breath was stuck in my lungs. I forced it out with a ragged huff. "No..."_

_"Yes." Someone hissed behind me._

_"I-I can't."_

_I looked back to see nothing but a giant slimy smile. "Well then..."_

_I turned back around. Figures were now surrounding me. One figure I recognized. His short platinum blond hair could be spotted anywhere._

_Blue shots then came at me from every direction._

I screamed myself awake. I jolted up, sweat perspiring my entire body. "Draco." I whispered in a mute voice. I shot my eyes up.

Kim sat up in her bed watching me with careful eyes. I sat up and got ready to go see Draco.

"Are you okay?" Kim asked in a casual voice. She was probably freaking out about me screaming her awake, but didn't want to bring it up.

"Fine, but you don't really care."

She looked at my reflection as she brushed her black curls in the mirror. "Emma, really. The only reason we didn't tell you is because we knew that you weren't going to do it. Draco wanted to find a way for you to agree to kill off one of your best friends."

"Is that why he made me his girlfriend?" I asked sourly. I pressed at every big red button that blinked in my mind.

"..._No_...Well, not anymore."

I stood straight up from my trunk to look at her. "What?"

"Well, it was Pansy's idea first. She thought it would be helpful to you if you didn't hate him completely. So, at the ball, she made you jealous and said it would make you want Draco more. So, well at the ball he kissed you. I honestly didn't think that you would actually go out with him, but you did. It was going better than any of us thought so..."

"Wait, wait, wait. You wait till now to tell me this. Pansy wanted me to go out with Draco? Seriously? You were in on it the entire time."

"_Noooo._ She doesn't know that you two are together. She knows that you two are friends-well kinda. Basically, she thinks that he's using you to make you go through with it. She makes a mockery out of you on a daily basis."

I was so lost that it wasn't even funny. Sure, being a laughing stock of the slytherins was simple enough. "So, Draco got a letter telling me to kill Hermione. He knew that I wouldn't go through with it so he got with me so I would. He came up with the idea with the help of you and Pansy. But now, I found out about it and it didn't do anything. So now, Draco's mad because..."

"Because he told me that he might not even tell you. He was thinking about doing it himself. He could always say that he tried to take on the murder himself and say that you didn't even know about it, but since now you do..."

I didn't respond. Why would Draco want to risk his own arse for me? I had no idea. She walked into the bathroom and began getting dressed. I did the same, but I decided not to meet Draco. Instead, I went straight to breakfast.

I took my old isolated seat at the edge of the slytherin table and waited for Draco. He would obviously go looking for me when I didn't show up in the dungeons. I saw Pansy with her usual gang of girls. I smiled brightly at her, showing all of my white teeth. The pulled my face into a tight fake grin, the wig she was wearing was faker. She seemed to be in her own little world that she had all control over.

Now, I was warping that world without even trying. Her smirk widened. She whispered something to one of her friends and the girls began laughing uncontrollably.

I snickered and turned to the door. Knowing that everyone was controlling my every action disturbed me. Knowing that I had what Pansy wanted most, knowing that she had handed it right to me, brightened up my day. Draco stood there scanning the hall for me when his eye caught mine. He kept his gray eyes at me as he took a seat across from me.

"Good morning!" I said with false cheer in my voice. "So, who are we killing today?" I asked loudly. Too bad the Hall was already too loud for anyone to hear me.

"_Are you completely insane?"_ He hissed leaning over the table.

I leaned closer to him so that our faces almost touched. There was a shift in my lower stomach that made me really uncomfortable. Whether it was how much of a bitch I wanted to be today or if it was how hot Draco looked with his glare plastered on his face, I really didn't care. Either way, I wanted, and needed, it to subside. "I'm as sane as you are delusional. You actually think that I'll-"

He glared at me, so I sighed and changed the subject. I looked across the hall. I saw Hermione hit Ron on the head and his twin brothers began laughing. I didn't even notice how warmly I began smiling.

Draco saw my smile and frowned.

"For a person who has to kill their best friend, you sure are cheery. What are you planning?" He asked with skepticism in his tone.

I smiled wider and leaned in close to him. I glanced at Pansy and watched as her grin slipped off her face to be replaced with a scowl. I looked back into Draco's stony eyes. "No, you're the one who does all the planning. Like this fake relationship. You wanted to get on my good side right?"

He didn't move an inch. He knew how to play the game. "Of course, love. I would think that I would want to be on my girlfriend's good side any way. But I'll get straight to the point. You were supposed to meet me this morning."

"Yeah, I just have to get adjusted today. We'll start tomorrow night. Umbridge is watching everything."

"I'm on her inquisitor's squad. We're not going to get caught." He replied with the as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

I sighed. "Do you really think that I'm just gonna out and kill my friend just because you asked me to."

"No..." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Then he replied, "I expect you to do it because the dark lord says so."

I frowned and took a bite out of my toast. I chewed slowly as he gave me a serious look. I focused my eyes on my plate as I tried to figure out a way out of this. I couldn't think of anything at that very moment. Despite my father's words, I still wanted to end this.

"Emma, how about we'll just start with the basics? We'll learn the spells first and go from there."

He narrowed his eyes as I thought for a moment. "I can live with that." I decided. I still wasn't going through with it- he could forget about that, but I might as well get him off my back for a while.

He kissed my hand before tossing his bag over his shoulder and heading off to his first class. As I headed to mine, I tried to mentally picture me actually killing Hermione, or anyone for that matter. In every scenario, I was sloppy and it ended up with me dead right next to the person I'd murdered.

Hermione came in right behind me. I sat by her quietly and took out the essay we had to write on whether or not we believed that 7 was the most powerful number and explain why we think so. I took a chance to glance at her.

"So, I was thinking about it...and after some consideration and a talk with Harry, we think that I was being a bit too hasty the other day so...well... here."

She slipped a coin under my book. I looked at it curiously for a moment and watched the numbers change. "What the-"

"Now we trust you, so welcome to the DA. Meet me in the Crystal passageway tonight. Come alone. And please don't mention this to Draco." She whispered as our teacher began speaking to the class about the history of the number 7.

She slipped a map to me with color coded passageways. With that, she didn't say another word to me. I frowned a little as I tore my eyes away from her and began to listen to the actual lesson.

My insides turned into tight knots. 'We trust you.' I felt like I was going to throw up. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on my work. I had to stop Draco.

That was the plan. After class there was a break. I sat in the courtyard knowing that Draco was going to find me.

Before I even had time to say hello, he pulled me into an empty class room on the fifth floor. It was large and dusty. There were hardly any desks, so I guess that Draco cleared it out already. I watched him with curiosity.

He put a silencer on the door and stood on the other side of the room. He held his wand out pointing at me. "First spell, Incendia Extraho."

He flickered his wand and a massive dragon made of all fire came at me. Its jaws snapped and blew more fire out of its flaming mouth.

My first instinct-scream. I ran to the edge of the room as the dragon grew with every inch that it closed between us. I pulled out my own wand and recited the only water spell that I knew. "Unda Flatus!" I screamed quickly.

It seemed to singe its tongue, but it really didn't do anything.

"_Draco!!!_"

The creature disappeared as Draco lowered his wand. I glared at him as I watched the floor hiss from the heat. "You should've used the Madidus spell- Madidus Somnium."

He demonstrated sending a continuous blast of water, soaking a wall in the process. He turned around and stared at me as if he was waiting for a question. I gave him one too.

"_What the hell is your problem_?" I asked slapping him on the arm.

"Hermione's resourceful. She'll have a dozen water spells to come back at the fire dragon. That's why you need to learn more spells."

"Draco..."

"No, don't even say anything. You're going to learn this...whether you like it or not. It's enough grief that you put people through. I really don't want to think about it when the Dark Lord kills you because you're so thick. Now, try the spell."

I blinked my eyes and to the other side of the room and repeated the spell that he just used to char the floor. He just folded his hands and smirked. "Incendia Extraho."

Nothing happened. I said it again. "Incedia Extraho." Nothing. Draco chuckled with his usual smirk and walked over to me.

He touched my hand and walked behind me. "Lesson two-key hand movements." He moved my hand to make the spell successful. I sighed after ten minutes of practicing the same spell.

"Draco, how about a break?"

He didn't respond. He simply sat in a desk by the window. The candles above lit the disserted classroom, so the curtains were tightly shut. I pulled up a chair at his desk and looked straight at him. "This is hard."

He smirked. "You think this is hard, just wait till you're conjuring up souls. You'll swear you've gone and died yourself."

"Draco is it really necessary to use dark spells. From what I know, the Fire Dragon isn't supposed to be used by students."

"You need to learn spells that will make it harder for Granger to heal. So if she gets away, you can always go back another day and finish her off."

"God, Draco." I looked down at the table. I knew the sloshing in my stomach was from the vomit that was rising up into my throat. "Draco, Kim told me that you were planning on killing Hermione yourself."

"Kim has a big mouth."

I waited for him to answer my question. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, I was. So?"

"You can't kill her."

"You, me, Crabbe, Pansy-any way it goes, someone's gonna get her. It's not like Ginny or Arthur Weasley-where Voldemort can just let it go. He knows she's a major part of Harry."

"You can't." I begged. It was the only way left. I was now going by ear, and I wasn't doing a very good job. How had Draco tangled me up in such a mess?

He almost seemed to give in. His eyes wavered studying my features. I wondered what he saw on my face because he glowered and recomposed himself into a stiff posture. "We should get back to work."

"This is gonna end badly." I stated standing up. I clenched my jaws and circled around him once, taking my position again.

"Not if you do what you're supposed to do."

I tried the spell again. A baby dragon appeared, slightly charring the floor.

"Whether or not I do it...it's a moot point." My dreams flashed in my mind. "Something bad is going to happen." Draco came closer to me and showed me how to wave the wand again. "What if Voldemort doesn't get the chance to kill me? What if I fail...and Hermione kills me?"

I doubted that that would be the outcome, but the words shook me all the same. I pulled my wand down and faced him. His eyes were troubled. His eyebrows knit together with an emotion that I couldn't quite pick up on.

"You're not going to die. I promise." Draco replied.

I looked at him. The way he was acting, I could truly love someone like him. But I would never love Draco. He was unpredictable, cruel...unreasonable, unrelenting... It was a horrible testament, but there was no other way to say it. "You mood swings are giving me whiplash."

I dropped my wand and pulled his head closer to me. Without any hesitation, I pressed my lips to his in one breath. He easily fell into my deception. There was bliss and guilt as I pulled him in. It was so easy that it was sad. I was quickly realizing that I could play the game as well as anyone. I'll know that in the end, I'll get burned. For now though, I was the fire, raging uncontrollably and burning anyone and everyone.

He stood with me and kissed me once on my lips. When he pulled away, he seemed to get a look at me and he pulled me in for another kiss. I couldn't help but respond. It seemed automatic to me. I sighed as he broke away and hurried away to my next class before my head started swimming.

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A/N- I picked up the spells from some simple Latin words. For those who picked up the little sentence (cough-cough- nothing just a lil' speck of a sentence-disappointing movie-not HP-the...other one...with the boy...if you can call him that...), I had to. I've seen the uproar. Some people are really ridiculous when it comes to foes.

Well, that's the end of the chapter. Summer, writer's block, and sharing a comp. I admit that I was going to hang it up on hiatus for a while and worked on some other pieces that I've been obsessed about…but I just can't. The story has a lot more to it and I think you guys deserve to see it...read it.

One thing I've been working towards-competely popped into my head out of the blue. The end would be considered angst, but the entire story…I don't know. Just wanna let you guys know.

I have my mind made up by now, but just a count-how many people want Emma dearest to die???

I might put up a poll...look out for it.

Chapter 9-WIP

Hopefully, I'll get it done sooner.

R&R plz. You know you guys rock.


	9. Power Hungry Part I

A/N: I mention Harry and the Weasley twins- small detail from OotP. It's not really a spoiler, but it was in the book. Just to let you know.

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Chapter 9-Power Hungry part 1

Why is dead so morbid, so unknown-the coffins, the dead bodies, and the graveyards. One in particular held a certain special death to it. The mist clung closely to the ground, blanketing the entire thing. It stopped right at the gates though. Strange. The stones were crooked lined up in wonky rows.

'_Who would was to be in a disturbing place like this,'_ I had to wonder myself as I stood next to the open grave. I took a deep breath and swayed my wand. My hand shook subtly as I focused my eyes on my prey. I tried not to focus on the debris all around me. I had to finish this spell.

"Vivificus proficuus!"

A red light flashed three times from the tip of my wand before the corpse twitched to life. It seemed to lift up from its abdomen. It's back rose and it stood crookedly. Its breath was rugged as it wheezed and walked towards me sloppily. It seemed to walk with a sort of limp from a broken leg. Even though it was walking around, it still had a death about it. It was unnatural and appalling.

I felt the vomit rise in my esophagus. My muscles were going numb, and there was an aching pain deep in the pit of my stomach. The ugly thing made its way around me towards the blond behind.

Draco was completely calm despite the ugly thing that was coming steadily closer to him. He had his hands deep in his robe pockets when I glanced at him. He checked the watch on his wrist as if we were pressed for time. He was all too smug as he nodded at me.

I flickered my wand and said, "Decido."

The corpse let out a wheezy cry as a blue streak shot it in the back. It dropped back to the muddy ground. I stood a safe distance away from it. It seemed even scarier when it wasn't moving.

Draco saw nothing of it as he levitated the body back into coffin and closed the ground back up. He didn't think it was abnormal at all that two teenagers were performing dark spells in a graveyard when they should be in school eating breakfast. I kept my eyes locked onto the covered spot as if the thing might jump back out of the ground without my help. Nothing happened though. The ground stayed misty and still.

He smirked at me. "Excellent. You're doing much better than I would've ever thought."

"Uh-huh. A bit too fast for my taste." I looked reluctantly up at him not wanting to turn my back.

I was supposed to learn spells so when it came time to kill Hermione Granger, I would have the upper hand. I was learning the them with a speed that I was even unaware of. I learned multiple spells a day and mastered all of them by the end of it. Learning normal spells (legal spells) took at least a week or so. One spell would take me a few days and the number of spells I'd learned so far (around 30) would've taken me ages to master, but I did it all within a few days.

Seeming completely oblivious to my apprehension, he took me by the waist and grabbed the portkey. We whizzed from the little graveyard back to his room. He was smirking the whole way.

"Honestly Emma, I would've thought that you'd be happy. You're halfway through the list."

"Sure." My mouth felt too dry to say any more. I just sat on his bed waiting for the next spell to be given to me. I wanted to ask him if all of these incantations were necessary, but it was too early. It never seemed like the right time though. We always seemed to get back to the same argument with how smart and resourceful Hermione was and how the Dark Lord expected it. That wasn't my only worry though. Every time I performed one of these Dark Arts spells, I'd become exhausted and totally drained. By the time I make it to my first class, I'm ready to roll back into my bed, cuddle up in my sheets, and sleep all day long. I could do the spells, but they wore me out.

Draco seemed to be brighter than ever. He grabbed his school bag and pulled me to the door. Right before he opened it he said in a low voice, "The next spell is the conjuring spell. It's sort of like Potter's patronous except you have to control it before it controls you."

My hand twitched clutching my wand tighter. I tried to study his face to see how serious he was, but he was just staring down the stairs blankly. The common room was nearly deserted with only one or two first years making bets on the upcoming Quidditch match. I'd had too much on my mind to think about it, but Draco loved telling me how the Weasley twins and Harry got kicked off the team and Slytherin was in a sorry lead.

We made our way down to the Great Hall. We didn't have much time to eat. Half of the students were already headed towards their first class. Many would grab a piece of fruit and go bolting up all the way to the seventh floor. I could never imagine going from the ground floor all the way up to the seventh floor, but someone could probably imagine me running low on breath, wheezing and panting looking like the corpse that I'd brought to life.

I took a seat beside Cody who was stuffing his face because he was running late. He grinned at me as he forced a sausage to go down his throat whole.

"So, how was it?" He asked me knowingly. Draco gave me a smirk before diving into a conversation about his match today with Blaise. I sighed grabbing a sour green apple and taking a huge bite out of the side. I let the sour juices sit in my mouth for a few moments before I swallowed. I subconsciously glanced around the Hall for a little bushy haired girl within the deserted Gryffindor table. When I couldn't find her, I turned back to Cody and shrugged.

"Like it always does. Mastered it. Starting the Conjurer next."

He furrowed his eyebrows together. "I think you should slow down. I mean, all those spells have to be taking a toll on you. What does your mum think about all this?"

"My mum doesn't tell me anything lately. She hardly writes to me. It's always my dad saying, _'your mother sends her love'_, and you know how much me and my dad have been getting along. What does my mum have to do with this anyway?" I replied mocking my dad's stern voice.

My mum has been ultra-secretive since my last visit to the Malfoy mansion. Usually it's her who wrote me letters during their long trips. No matter what they were doing-even if they were in a hidden forest running from werewolves-she'd cop a squat under a Weeping Willow and write me a short note telling me that 3 wolves were chasing her and that she'd bring me back an extra fang if they got their hands on one. She'd say that my dad sent his love to me and then have it flown right to me with a small gift. Now, my mum sent me a two sentence letter of 'how are you' and 'I'm pretty busy' with a _love mum_ at the end. I'd sent her all my worries of Draco and the mission and the heirs and Hermione. She sent back _'it'll get better'_ and left it at that.

Cody was the only one who seemed to get where I was coming from. He coached me through what Draco didn't. He told me tricks and ways to deal with the exhaustion. I was glad that at least one person had sympathized with me- not that Kim didn't too, but she was quickly losing her patience with me.

"Hey Cody, bye Cody. Come on, walk and talk." Kimberly squawked pulling me away from my half-finished apple onto our first class. "So, you have a slight problem."

I groaned at her, flinging my bag over my shoulders. We went up the stairs with a few other kids. "What now?"

"Well, Pansy's working my nerves. Ugh, you should've seen her early. She's telling everyone that Draco and her are _in love_. Going on about how perfect the two of them would be together once they've gotten married. I almost said something."

"But you didn't, did you?" I asked a little unsure. I knew that I couldn't be too sure when Kim was involved.

She scoffed and looked back at me when we reached the top of the stairs. "Of course not. I'm not completely stupid. Would she have said one more thing about you, I would have."

"Well don't. I've got enough problems without you putting me on Pansy's hit list."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Of course…"

I raised an eyebrow. Kim looked a little jittery. She rotated a small gold ring on her forefinger over and over. Kim wasn't one to bite her lip either-ever. She thought it was a waste of perfectly good lip gloss. "Kim, are you sure that you didn't say anything to Pansy?"

"Oh, I say lots of stuff to Pansy-how ugly her wig looks, how she just wants to have long hair like you, how she was too thick to even seduce Crabbe and Goyle, how...you're ten times better for Draco than she is."

"What!"

I hit her with my bag as we rounded the corner to Professor Flitwick's class. The students entering the room all stared at the pair of us. I glanced at them and lowered my voice.

"How could you?"

"Don't worry. I did tell her that you two were together. Cool down."

"Yeah, uh-huh."

"Besides, she's walking around like she's the slytherin princess. You need to set her straight. Do something, anything…or I will. And I'm pretty sure no one wants me in charge."

"What is this-battle of arms?"

She thought back to our Muggle Studies lesson. "Yes, yes it is. Pansy wants power and, with you doing _nothing_, she's getting it. She's making a mockery out of you."

"Draco is in charge, Kimberly. Take it up with him."

"_You're_his right hand man, I'm asking you. So far you've got 3 people on your side- me, Cody, and Draco. If you tell Draco's friends, they'll be on your side too. You just have to make Pansy's friends warm up to you. "

"If they don't?"

"Then make them. They don't have to like you, but they will fear you…by the time I'm done with them…I know you're having a hard time, but get over yourself. You have the power in your hands. Word to the wise-use it." She poked my shoulder and walked into the room.

I rolled my eyes and stomped over to my classmates. Hermione raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head.

The coin she'd given me changed 3 times since I got it. So, I've been to 3 meetings thus far. That morning, right before I went to meet Draco, it had changed. There was another meeting tonight and I had to figure out a way to get away from Draco. It wasn't an easy task since Draco hardly ever left me alone now. He wasn't too keen of me skipping training.

I'd have to butter him up and keep him busy for an hour or so while I'm gone. Being a slytherin-an heir no less-and in the DA was hard. I'd been training with Draco, going to his meetings with the heirs, and going to the DA meetings. I wasn't complaining though. I went to Draco's match like a good little secret yet not-so-secret girlfriend and wished him good luck.

Just as his team headed off to the field after lunch, I pulled him into an alcove and brought him into a sweet kiss. He grinned wrapping his arms around my waist. I looked up at him and sighed. "Good luck."

"Thanks, but it's not like we need it. Hufflepuff is easy enough to beat with that pathetic team of theirs."

"A 'thank you' will suffice." I scoffed with a small laugh.

He laughed too and kissed me one more time before jogging onto the field with his broom in hand.

I furrowed my eyebrows and let the knots in my stomach subside before I turned around. I saw a furious looking Pansy staring straight at me. The corridor wasn't nearly long enough-nearly tall, or even wide enough to have such rage emanating from one person. There was no way around her. She stood with her normal group of friends who weren't half as bad as her.

"Hey, Pansy." I said politely. Her friends grinned.

"So, Kim wasn't joking. She is with Draco." Millicent said with an almost manly voice. Her manliness took care of all the testosterone for the group.

"No, as always, Kim has no idea what she's talking about." Pansy said smoothly but obviously carried a bit of panic in her eyes. "Take a walk with me, Paniettiere."

I raised an eyebrow, but followed her. We walked along the edge of the pitch and listened to the roaring crowds. I wasn't shaken until a small smirk appeared on her lips.

"Emma, you continuously insist on pushing me over the edge." She said looking over the cliff that the Quidditch field was perched on. It looked steep enough that I backed away from the edge not wanting Pansy to push me off. She laughed at the movement. "Emma, I've got better ways to punish you than to push you over cliffs."

"You and your friends aren't going to touch me." I said bravely. I was still one of the most important heirs at the school. She wouldn't do any permanent damage to me. Painful-yes, but she'd never kill me.

"I won't have to." She still had the smirk stretched along her thin lips. "I wanted to tell you about another...dark magic that Draco didn't get around to telling you about."

"Really." It wasn't a question. I didn't trust anything that came out of her lying little mouth.

She nodded and stepped away from the edge closing the space in between the two of us. "Here. Have a look." She opened her gloved hand to reveal a small pendant.

It was small enough to fit completely in the palm of her hand. The gold and diamonds reflected the sun's rays bouncing all around creating a rainbow of colors. It didn't look like an evil object whatsoever. I guess that's what threw me off.

I'm not sure what came over me. The moment I looked at the thing I was in love with it. It shined a bit too brightly and its color was a bit too pure.

I reached out my hand.

Her smirk turned into a wide grin. "It's called the Portal. It's an...original version of the portkey. This one has all the real qualities of a portkey that the Ministry didn't want getting around."

With that, she turned her palm down and the pendant fell into my hand. It was painful. Instead of spinning at light's speed, it was like my body was actually being transported, piece by piece, somewhere else. I felt heat engulf my entire body and I felt strangely naked. My organs felt grappled and tight. I didn't have the strength to even open my eyes once my body calmed down. As my feet finally touched the ground, my entire body go numb, and I collapsed. I wasn't about to just lay there. I imagined that I was still near the Quidditch field because I could hear the screams of the students.

I felt damp and hot, but my body was too numb for me to tell if it was all in my head. As I opened my eyes a bit, I saw students hovering above me in stands-almost as if I was...

I was laying in the dead center of the Quidditch field. I heard the screams and gasps of them all- then a shout.

"Emma, Emma!"

I looked in the direction of the sound. Draco was flying over to me with a panicked look on his face. He jumped off his broom and threw off his team robe.

I frowned as his face became completely focused. I could now feel the wet grass below me. I looked down in horror. My body lay stripped and completely naked in the center of the mile high Quidditch field. The screams were of the thousands of students peering down at me.

"Oh my god." I mumbled pulling my shaky knees up over my chest. The pit of my bare stomach turned in knots. Draco pulled his robe over me and rushed me off the field. I had trouble running with my uneasy body, but he got me into the locker room within seconds.

I dropped to the floor once the door shut behind everyone. I was surrounded by the slytherin team who were all smirking down at me. I stared at the floor with fury. I barely noticed Draco screaming at me.

"What the hell happened?" He said shaking my shoulders so hard my head bobbed back and forth.

"I-it-" I shook my head trying to clear all of my thoughts. I felt my hand clutched around a small object. I opened my palm to see the dull locket placed innocently in my hand.

The team thought it was quite amusing. Flint chuckled. "I knew you looked good Emma, but bloody hell- you look even better with you clothes off."

Everyone laughed but Draco. I could see the scowl on his face. He stood up and let his fist meet Flint's smug face. The laughter died out immediately as we watched the boy writhe in pain on the floor.

"Anyone else have anything to say?" Draco bellowed.

"Mr. Malfoy, that's quite enough." Professor Snape cooed in his brooding voice as he lifted me off the slightly wet surface. "Come with me Ms. Paniettiere..."

I let him take me up to the castle ahead of the rest of the students into the common room. I could hear the students on the floor above being ushered into the Great Hall.

"I suggest you get some clothes on Ms. Paniettiere. I believe you're going to have a long day ahead of you."

Just as he said that I could hear the bellowing voice of McGonagall. "All students are to report to the Great Hall with the exception of the fifth year slytherins. They are to report to their common room."

"We _are _in trouble, aren't we?" Snape said with slightly raised eyebrows. He grunted and took a seat in one of the wooden chairs at a double long beechwood table.

I groaned and sprinted up to my room. I threw off Draco's robe and threw open my trunk. I didn't bother with what I put on. I threw on a V-neck t-shirt and some faded jeans. I slipped on my flip flops idly shrugging on Draco's robe and heading back into the common room.

It was now filled with fifth year students. They all simultaneously looked at me. I felt the scorching eyes. I wanted to go to the very back of the crowd and try to blend into the wall, but Draco beckoned me up to the very front of the crowd at the double long table. I took a seat, sinking as low as Draco would let me. He handed me my wand as I tried hard not to notice the dozens of eyes boring into the back of my head. Instead, I focused on the row of flickering candles on the far wall.

Professor Snape glared at all the students sending a wave of terror through each and every person in the room. He looked from me to Draco going down the line of students. The heirs looked coolly up at Snape as if nothing was the least bit wrong. I, on the other hand, scanned them all for one person in particular.

Pansy sat, hands folded over the table gracefully with a mocking smirk on her lips. She stared straight at me with those thin curled lips even as Snape began to speak. I glared fiercely back at her from across the table.

"Now, it is obvious that we have a problem." Snape began sternly. He touched his hand to the very end of the table peering at everyone. "I'm highly disappointed in you all. I thought that slytherin would have more sense than this, and, yes, I do think that slytherin is responsible for this and I will be quite blunt. This is a serious matter. If I find out who is responsible for this mess, they will be on…the next…train…home. Do-you-understand?"

Everyone mumbled a small 'yes, professor' with the exception of the short bob haired girl, Pansy. "How do we know it wasn't just Patty girl trying to show off and be the slut that she truly is?"

"Now, now Parkinson. You don't want people thinking it was you who gave Miss Paniettiere this rare and_illegal_ pendant, would you?" Snape reasoned just as coolly as when he began. He held up the pendant that was now wrapped in a handkerchief.

The smirk slid off of her face to be replaced with a scowl. "Of course not, Professor."

"That's what I thought. Now, all of the students are getting memory charms placed on them in the Great Hall. None of you are to utter a word to them. Am I clear?"

More murmurs were heard throughout the common room. Snape approached Draco and mumbled in a low voice. "I suggest you get you friends in line. I don't want this happening again. Your power hungry girls are going to ruin you Draco."

"Yes Professor." He mumbled just as quietly as Snape.

Snape gave one last piercing glance at the common room before sweeping away with his robe billowing behind him.

I sighed and got up to go to my room. Draco grabbed my hand shaking his head. The glare he gave the rest of the people sitting at the table kept them motionless until everyone else went up to their rooms. I guessed that classes were over for the day. The match was obviously cancelled. My day wasn't anywhere near over though.

Draco didn't have to say anything. No one uttered a word as they all followed Draco out of the common room. He pulled me down the familiar corridors. The candles were just as dim, and the door at the end of the hall was just as eerie.

Crabbe pulled opened the heavy door and let it swing. The stone chairs were still there. This time there were placed in a circle. They were almost as grand as the two seated next to each other. Draco pulled me into one of the chairs. I sat down and grasped the arm.

Pansy's eyes darted to mine as she slowly walked past me and into her seat. I was thankful that Blaise sat next to Draco. Kim was on my other side. Cody looked at me from across the way. He looked frustrated. He had no idea what was going on seeing as he was a fourth year.

No one spoke for a long time. They all watched Draco. He had his hand under his chin in deep thought. He didn't cease his deathly glares for a moment though. He watched every single one of us. Then, he pulled out his wand and conjured a worn down wooden chair.

What he did next took me by surprise. He turned to me and nodded. "Emma, why don't you take this one?"

I looked at him as if he'd grown two heads. "Huh?"

"Who needs to be punished?" He said pointing his wand to everyone in the circle.

"No, I-I don't think-"

"God dammit, Emma. Do it."

I made no move. He clenched his jaws and stood up. He looked at everyone with his even glare bouncing off the dark walls and back at us.

"This is going to stop now. We know who holds the power. Don't try and change it now."

"She doesn't even want to be an heir. She's a waste of all our time." Pansy said coolly. She stood up and walked up to Draco with ease. She circled him, her finger trailing from his chest to his shoulder blades and back again. "We all know who's meant to be in her place."

Draco rolled his angry eyes. "Pansy sit do-"

He didn't get to finish. Kim had leapt out of her seat and onto Pansy before anyone had even noticed. She punched her straight in the nose. Pansy wailed in pain. Even then, Kim didn't stop she kicked and punched at the girl's head until Pansy stopped trying to get up. Then, Kim stood up, straightened her robes, and looked at me with serious eyes.

"Now, I don't care who you _think_ you are, but Voldemort chose Emma. If you have any more objections, I suggest you take it up with him. Otherwise, don't bloody complain. And Emma, you need to start taking control. Even if you have to knock their asses off their feet," She gestured to the heap on the ground, "do it because I'm _not_ doing this again."

With that, Kim sat back down in her seat. "Continue Malfoy." She said as if she didn't just beat the living hell out of Pansy and leave her silently sobbing on the ground.

Now, Draco grinned. "No, I think you just about covered it all Cross. Everyone can go."

Kim sighed and got up to leave. "Are you coming?" She asked when I didn't make a move to get up.

I shook my head watching the still girl on the ground. "No, you go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Everyone filed out of the room all glancing sideways at me as they did. I ignored Draco as he beckoned me. Instead, I kneeled over the heap on the floor. I'm not sure why I did it, but I couldn't just leave her. I touched her shoulder gently. "Pansy, are you okay?"

I swore I could hear her growl. "Get away from me."

"Pansy, come on. I can help."

I pulled her face up. It had bruises and was bloody because of the broken nose she had. I pulled out my wand and muttered a spell that I'd seen Luna use on Neville's broken nose.

Her nose snapped back in place with a deafening crack. Her head wretched to one side as the bones realigned. It actually looked better that way. I grinned at my work. "Better?"

"Get the hell away from me." She stood up and, with the little pride that she had left, strode out of the dungeon passing by Draco without so much as a sideways glance.

"You're too nice. You know that?" He told me as I sighed and joined him at the door.

"Draco, I-I actually feel kinda sorry for her now."

She was head over heels for Draco. So were half of the girls in slytherin, but that was beside the point. She'd gone very far to get power, and it was ripped out of her hands and placed into my feeble ones. She had hordes of slytherins behind her-whether they were her gossiping banshees or the boys, she had them.

I finally saw things from Pansy Parkinson's point of view. For the first time, I felt very small compared to her. Even though I sat in the seat, she still had all the power. And if I was going to avoid a disaster like this afternoon, I'd have to rip every ounce of power she had left in her hands away from her.

* * *

Yeah, how'd you like that chapter. It was pretty long. I remember when I wrote this. I just kept adding more and more. Poof! Long ass chapter with a twisted girl. I loved coming up with the idea. I have to admit, the idea about Emma being taken somewhere by a portkey came from another story. I can't remember what the name of it was, but I know I read it on Quizilla a couple of years ago. I love that story, so if anyone knows what I'm talking about, message me. I'd like to read it again.

Peace, Love, & Apple Pie


	10. Power Hungry Part II

Chapter 10-Power Hungry part 2

Recap: For the first time, I felt very small compared to Pansy. Even though I sat in the seat, she still had all the power. And if I was going to avoid a disaster like this afternoon, I'd have to rip every ounce of power she had left in her hands away from her...

"So, I guess we can just spend the rest of the day training." Draco suggested draping his hand over my shoulder.

I glanced up at him. He had a small grin on his lips. It sent shivers down my spine, but I didn't lose my focus.

"Draco, you're not in the least bit worried about Pansy." It wasn't a question. It wasn't so much that I was worried about her, per se. It was more of the fact that I was worried what she would do to other people, particularly me.

Still, he shook his head and pulled me back into the dungeon. He closed the door behind him and pulled out his wand.

"Not at all. She should have seen this coming. I know how Pansy is though. She doesn't take too kindly to people getting in the way of what she wants."

"What she wants is you." I couldn't help but think back to all the threats that I underwent at the beginning of the school year. Pansy and her friends didn't seem so dangerous. To say that I underestimated her would be an understatement.

"What she wants...is everything you have." He corrected.

I tried to wrap my mind around that. I hardly noticed Draco sending a spell at me. The blue sparks flew at me. I barely jumped out of the way. I ducked my head and glared at him.

"Pay attention."

"Draco, I'm sorry. I can't do this. Not today."

He shook his head. "This is important. Are you even listening to me?"

I shook my head. "How can you be so calm about this? Pansy acted like a psycho today, and you don't even care."

He laughed once and walked back up to me. He pushed a strand of my long hair back behind my ear. "Pansy always acts like a psycho-"

"-more than usual." I corrected.

"But she still did something that shouldn't surprise you. She'll go to any lengths to get what she wants."

"Anything?"

"Just about."

I sighed in frustration. "Then why don't you just give her what she wants and get it over with."

He laughed again and pulled me close to him. "Because you already have what she wants. Besides, I'm not a toy."

"You treat everyone else like a toy- a tool."

"That hurts, Emma. It really does."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. Sorry." I said unsympathetically. It wasn't me who wasn't listening. He didn't seem to care about what just happened. His mind seemed to be on something else.

"Well, since you don't want to train, there's always other ways to preoccupy ourselves."

Right. That's where his mind was at. "Draco. You can't be serious." I said and pulled his hands away from my waist.

He smirked at me and planted soft kisses on my neck and collarbone. I sighed and he bit down and sucked. My knees began to shake. My eyes lost focus of the high ceiling that I was staring at. Draco just pulled me closer to him. This was far from pretending. I couldn't possibly pull him in that far.

"Draco, stop." I whispered into his ear. It wasn't very convincing, so I had to reluctantly push him away.

"What?"

"I can't."

"Why, because you don't want to use me. You're already doing that aren't you?"

I stared at him. I tried to pull away to get a better look at his face but he held me against his body and hissed in my ear.

"You think you can use me, and I won't notice it. You try to distract me so you can go running to those gryffindors, so you can be with that Potter and Granger. You don't have any secrets Emma. I know everything that runs through that pretty little head of yours."

I scoffed and pushed at his chest. It did no good. It was like pushing up against a wall.

"I use you; you use me. Is that the way it goes?" He sounded a bit hurt as his rough voice cracked in the middle of his sentence.

"Draco, I-"

"I don't want it to be like that. I'm not gonna lie to you Emma...ever. You ask me to do something I do it, don't I? With no complaint."

I frowned at his shoulder. "I don't recall."

He laughed into my neck. "I told you I couldn't protect you forever. I tried, but everything you see now has always been there."

"What about Kim?"

He laughed again releasing me. "Yes, she's always been violent. I told her to tone it down. For your benefit."

"Yeah, okay. So, you just run this whole show don't you?"

"Something like that." He pulled me into a kiss again. I didn't push him away. I pulled him closer to me even when we were already pressed against each other. He slid his tongue across my bottom lip, begging for entrance. I granted it without question. I tasted him as I pulled at his quidditch shirt. He smirked against my lips.

I knew that I was all over the place with Draco. I honestly had no idea what I wanted anymore. Sometimes I hated him and wanted to get as far away from him as humanly possible, but other times he seemed to transform into this irresistible...thing that I couldn't stay away from. I loved to hate him, but I was getting to the point where it was weird if I was without him. It wasn't love, god no. It was something like lust, but lust and love run seemed along the same lines in this situation, or they were strikingly close. You could find yourself walking on one line one day, and then you've tumbled over with nothing but the other line to grasp onto.

"Emma."

"Hmn," I said in between kisses. I was so absorbed in what I was doing. I was struggling to pull out his belt. He just smirked and pulled my hand up away from his pants until it was around his neck again.

"I thought you said that you couldn't." He taunted. His smirk was killing me. I was hyper aware of his muscled body against mine.

"I've been known to be a liar." I grumbled. I straightened up and released him from my death grip.

"You are really something, you know that?"

"Shut up." My cheeks were a deep shade of red.

"Sometimes I don't know if you're pretending or if you really like me."

"Yeah okay. Which do you think it is?" I asked trying to calm myself. I completely avoided his searching eyes by playing with the collar of his shirt. He put a little space between us as we made our way away from the dungeon.

"I think it's a bit of both." He said with a wide smile. He must have seen my face react because he laughed. "I think that you want to pretend to like me so you can find some way to change my mind about you being an heir and the task, but, "He stressed the 'but' part, "you can't help but fall flat on your face in love with me."

I snorted. "You're playing it up just a bit, don't you think?"

"I'm not wrong though."

I rolled my eyes. "Draco-"

"I know I'm not wrong. Anyone with eyes can see."

"No, no they can't." I shook my head. I was sure that I wasn't that far gone that I went gaga when Draco and I were together. I was pretty sure...

"Sure, Emma, but you're gonna love me one day. I guarantee it."

"Sure, Draco." I replied giving him a peck on the cheek. While he went through the portrait, I headed up the stairs.

"Where are you going now?" He groaned. If that was one thing I knew about Draco, he couldn't keep up with my movements.

"Out to fall in love with someone that's not you." I joked.

"That's nowhere near funny."

I snickered and jogged up the stairs. Only when I heard the portrait close did my face become serious again. I touched my forehead and bit my lip.

I wasn't in love with Draco. I wasn't. Harry and Ron didn't even know. I let my feet lead me. I didn't know where I was going until I got there. I glanced up once I hit the last round of stairs. Without completely thinking, I pulled off Draco's robe and rolled it over my arm. Then, I went up the stairs.

The fat lady stared at me with curious eyes. "Password?"

"Uhh..." I didn't think that far ahead. I didn't think at all.

"Password dear?"

"Drooping Droobles." A voice called from the stairs. "Hello, long time, no see."

I turned my head around to see Hermione hurrying up the stairs with a tall pile of books.

"Oh wow, do you need help with that?" I asked trying to pull a couple off the top.

"Yes, that would be nice." She replied as we both headed into the common room. I was surprised to see that not many people were there. A few students lounged around playing wizards chess and doing homework.

The Gryffindor common room seemed so homey. There was a large fire going in a fireplace on the far wall. There were brown sofas and chairs around it. Red and gold seemed to blend in with the tan stone walls. It was a tower, and it had long windows that looked out upon the grounds.

"Can you believe it? All our classes have been canceled for the day. Something must be going on."

I laughed nervously, "Huh, I bet."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't make more of it. "Well, I've taken the liberty of making the most of this time."

"So, you waste a perfectly good day by studying for your O.W.L.s?" I observed the books that all had to do with preparations for the up-and-coming examination.

"Yes, unfortunately, Harry and Ron made a run for it as soon as I mentioned the library, so it's just you and me until this evening."

"Lovely."

She grinned and dropped the books in her room. I watched her a few moments scrambling for parchment and ink. Her hair was pulled into a big messy bun and her forehead creased with intent focus. It was amusing watching Hermione sometimes. It was when other people watched me that I had a problem. She glanced up as she pulled a two foot long roll of parchment out of her trunk.

"So, what brings you up here into enemy territory?" She asked crossing her legs and pulling a book into her lap.

"I just wanted to talk to some friends."

"Is this about Draco?"

"Uhh," My mouth dropped open. "No, this is not about Draco."

"It's always about Draco. You know, you still haven't told Harry. I think Ron is getting the picture, but Harry's just walking around in a daze."

"Well, what's wrong with him?"

"Um, no, what's going on with you and Draco?"

"Nothing."

I was always amazed at how much Hermione seemed to know. I didn't have to tell her something. She just...knew. The girl was too smart for her own good.

She pressed her lips into a tight line and began copying a phrase from the large book.

"So...you don't mind anymore...about Draco?"

"I still think he's gonna hurt you, but you're gonna do what you want to anyway. There's no point in arguing about it."

"Well, there's really not that much to tell," I dove into my speech with ease. "He's kinda all over the place. I mean, first he acts like it's completely business and then sometimes, it seems as if he really wants to just be with me. I just don't know sometimes. Then, there's Pansy. She wants him all the time, and she does anything to have him. Then Kim, I honestly had no idea how knit tight her and Draco were. It's like everyone around me is in on a huge secret and I'm just a little pawn in it all."

Hermione looked up from her notes and sighed. "Well, I'm not sure what to tell you. I have to say that that's typical slytherin behavior. Pansy has always been that way, and she'll be that way until she dies. At one point I heard a rumor that she had been messing around with Crabbe, but you know how rumors go. With Draco, I've never known him to have a heart, so whether he likes you or not, I couldn't possibly begin to tell you what to do."

I listened closely to everything she said. I snorted at the end. "Wow, Mione. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. You're loads of help, really." I said sarcastically.

Hermione kept her pin straight face. "What I want to know is, are you feeling the same way?"

My grin dropped. That one definitely hit home. "I-do you want me to tell you the truth?"

"No, I want you to tell me a lie-of course I want you to tell me the truth." She said slamming her book shut, now completely wrapped in the conversation.

I ran my hands through my dark hair and felt my eyebrows inch closer together. "Well, I honestly don't know. Sometimes I feel like ripping his throat out, he's such a jerk. Other times, it's like he's this completely other person. He's sweet and it really seems like he cares. I don't know." I worked to get out every word, trying to make sure it sounded perfect-making sure every word I said was the truth. I avoided Hermione's gaze by playing with my fingers twisting and folding them. "I think I like him, but-ugh. I want to be with him. I want to be away from him, you know, because a part of me wants things to go back to the way they were, but when I look at things now, I'm not so sure. There are definitely things that I could go without, but I know that Draco isn't all that bad."

I was actually surprised with her. When I glanced up at her, she was nodding and had a completely serious look on her face. She was actually listening to what I had to say. If it was Harry or Ron, they wouldn't even let me explain myself. They'd just continue to make assumptions like they always did. Hermione just listened, gathering up the information and waited until I was done to give her intelligent analysis.

"It seems to me like you do like him. You just don't want to admit it. I don't understand it," she sighed and grinned at me, "but if you say he's what you want then maybe I might have been wrong this one time. Who knows, if he stopped calling me mudblood so much, maybe he and I could even become friends."

I grinned too. "Maybe. I'm glad you think so."

I lounged around in Hermione's room for a while. Then Ginny came up to remind us about the DA meeting. We met up with Ron and Harry and made our way over to the Room of Requirement. On the way, I could have sworn I saw a statue move or its shadow shift. I stopped and turned back to examine the corridor.

"Emma, come on."

"I thought I saw...never mind. I'm coming." I said shaking the cold goose bumps away and jogging up to the door.

The meeting went as it normally did. Everyone was having their trials and errors, but we all managed to produce our patronus, even Neville. We were in the mist of making a full body patronus when a crash was heard from the corridor. Everyone stopped and looked towards the wall which the sound was produced. I just turned towards Cody. His horror mirrored mine. Then, another crash was heard. Dust and debris broke off and crumbled to the floor.

"What is that?" Seamus Finnigan asked quietly.

"You think that..." Cody couldn't even finish his sentence.

Hermione ran over to me and pulled me away. I hadn't even realized that I wasn't moving. I just stood there in my paralyzed state. Hermione managed to conjure up a small door to get me and Cody out. I found my voice as she was pushing close the wall.

"Wait, you're not gonna come with us?" I questioned in a frenzy. She just continued to push the door.

"Finding us is one thing. We can handle whatever Umbridge dishes out, but you two slytherins...what would your house think of you?" She said seriously, a grin playing on her face. "We'll talk later."

Then she shut the door and it disappeared. I stared at the wall for a few seconds listening to the walls on the other side shake and probably crash to the floor with the loudest pounding of all.

"Come on, Emma. We have to go." Cody said pulling me through the tiny corridor. We bent our heads all the way through, the ceiling being far too low for us to fully stand. Once we were out, we bounded down a flight of stairs away from the 'crime scene'. We seemed to be in a sprint, running down the corridor. I just felt my heart pound in my chest and make its way up to my throat and pounded there, choking me. Cody got me out of there before I had a nervous breakdown, but I still couldn't calm myself.

"We should've stayed." I told him. We sat down on a window sill and took a breath.

"Yeah, that's smart. Let's give the heirs another reason to hate us. I really don't want a repeat of the beginning of this school year."

"But I'm sure you're gonna get it." A shrilly voice echoed from the end of the corridor.

Cody and I turned to come face to face with a bob-raven black headed Pansy. The blood drained and cooled in my veins just from the sight of her. She had a smirk on her mouth. I didn't chance a glance at Cody. Instead, I wrapped my fingers my wand. I was sure that Cody would do the same if he had any common sense.

"Oh, Kim can't save you now." She said and walked over to us with subtle speed. "This is rich. You not only betrayed all of the heirs and your fellow slytherins, but you also betrayed The Dark Lord...conspiring with the enemy...tut-tut. Where's Draco now?"

Her words seemed to be as cold as the air that breezed in through the low window. The difference between the two-Pansy's words made me shy away. The cool air was empowering. I took in a deep breath and focused my eyes. I pulled out my wand and pointed it directly at her. My confidence grew out and caused a smirk to spread through my lips, stretching them until it looked what I was positively sure, menacing.

"Like I need Draco to save me."

Then sparks flew.

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Yeah, this would be a huge cliff hanger if the chapter wasn't on the next page... So R&R my lovely readers and continue on.


	11. Power Hungry The Conclusion

This is a special chapter. It's in Draco/Harry/Cody's POV. You'll see. It's basically the same scene from different points of view. It's pretty short, but you'll survive.

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Power Hungry-The Conclusion

Recap-"Like I need Draco to save me." And sparks flew.

Draco's POV

I couldn't see anything fast enough. I was taking my rounds like I usually did. Being one of Umbridge's inquisitors gave me free reign of the school at night. Hopefully, I would find Emma in the process. She'd been gone for hours. I searched each hall but found nothing of importance. There were lots of students walking about the castle when they were supposed to be in their common room, but I really didn't care for them. I ignored the dark classrooms that obviously had more than just tutoring going on in them by the experienced seventh years. My mind was only focused on the horribly strange brunette I called my girlfriend.

I didn't understand Emma one bit. She was stubborn, unrelenting, and overbearing. I'm not even sure what is what that drew me to her. All I knew was that I've wanted her ever since my third year at Hogwarts. She's so difficult to be around.

I knew that she hated to be with me, but I knew that against her better judgment, she still wanted me just as much as I want her. I thought that I would never admit that I was in love with a girl like that, but I was sure that everything that I once believed in went out the window the moment I gave her that letter.

Still she fought me off. I thought I could bring her around soon enough, but she found Potter and Granger better friends than I was. They probably were, but I knew her better than them. I saw, firsthand, all the secrets that she held inside her heart even if she tried to hide them. She was always running away from me and into the arms of those gryffindoors. I always told myself that I would never let anything happen to her. No matter how selfish she was, I would never put her in harm's way, whether it was the slytherins or even the Dark Lord.

I idly passed through the corridors. For a long time, all I could hear were the light tap-tap of my shoes against the stone floors and the whistling of the cool breeze outside the walls. Then, I saw Tanya, a sixth year inquisitor. She ran from the end of the corridor waving me down. Her badge shone brightly in the green and silver metal. It was slightly comical to see the girl bob down to me with her unsteady legs and long robe getting in the way of her abnormally huge feet.

"Draco, you've missed it. A group of students have been rounded up for conspiring against the Ministry. Harry Potter is supposedly the leader of it. Dumbledore actually thinks he can build an army against-"

My throat was dry. "Who else was with them?" I urged. I'd already known that Emma was a part of some gathering with the blood traitors and the mudbloods. I'd let it go on for a long time. I'd even gone as far as sending Umbridge off course when I saw her leaving the secret room. Now, they'd gone and gotten caught.

"Loads of people. I was just coming to get you. We saw a glimpse of a collapsing door. I think it was Cody again. You're gonna have to teach him a lesson again Malfoy. Pansy searching the halls now for him-"

I shook my head and ran back down the corner. I could feel it down to my very core. Emma was with Cody. I knew better than anyone that Cody was not Pansy's target. I rushed down the stairs and down another corridor. My feet wouldn't move any faster against the pavement. I got so close that I could hear Pansy's shrieking. Then I heard Cody shooting spells.

"Avada Kadavera!"

Above all the shouting I could pick out the fiercest voice of the three. "No, Cody! Stop!"

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I rounded the corner. My hands slid against the stone to steady my stop.

~~~~~5 Minutes Earlier~~~~~~

Harry's POV

"I can't believe those slytherins ratted us out!" Ron hissed in a whisper. "I swear I'm gonna break Emma's neck."

"Hey. Don't say that. I'm sure they didn't say anything. Why would they? They've been with us for so long." Ginny argued under her breath as a short plump fifth year name Mark pushed them along. He didn't seem to care that they were talking. He knew there was something in for them within a few minutes.

"She's right. If they were gonna say something, it would've been sooner. It doesn't make sense to do it now." Harry agreed eyeing Delores Umbridge carefully. "What do you suppose she's gonna do with us?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna break Emma's neck." Ron seethed, glaring down past the crowd of students.

"It's not her fault Ronald." Hermione defended. She touched his arm only to have her hand shoved away.

"Sure, take her side."

"Ron, I'm just being fair. When have you ever tried to like her?"

"Maybe I don't want to like her."

"That's not fair."

Then Umbridge turned around, her eyes beaded and a frog like smirk on her face. They were not even close to her office, but everyone stopped in fear of her making their punishment worse. "You lot best shut your mouths. You're in enough trouble as it is. Eh, Dumbledore's Army?"

"Professor-" Harry began.

He was cut off by a loud shout. It sounded more like a cry of pain right around the corner. Everyone turned their heads to the sound.

~~~~~5 Minutes Earlier~~~~~

Cody's POV

I saw as Pansy approached Emma. I couldn't even breathe. My stomach twisted into a hundred knots. The only thing that I could think was, _'Oh crap, not again.'_

Emma, on the other hand, showed no sign of fear. I was never sure where all the confidence came from, but that's why I liked Emma so much. She reminded me of Ginny, unafraid.

The tension between them was so dark. They glared at one another and pulled out their wands. I pulled my wand out of my robe and pointed it at Pansy.

"You think you don't need Draco? Yeah, that's rich." Pansy screeched and threw a spell at Emma.

I couldn't see what happen fast enough. Emma countered and dodged all the spells coming at her. Then everything changed in a flash. I chased after them as they went down the halls dodging each other's spells.

I lifted up my wand to push Pansy back, but it all back fired. All I could hear was Pansy sending the killing curse at me. All I could see was Emma jumping in the way. I swear that I blacked out after that. I could hear screaming.

"Emma, no!"

Draco's POV

My body didn't work with my mind. My mind was telling my body to move. Instead, I just stood there unmoving staring at the scene before me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In all the years that I had known Pansy, I didn't think that she had it in her, but there it was-rather, there the person was lying there on the ground.

"Emma, oh my god. Emma." The boy screamed. The sound broke through my eardrums. Cody was shaking Emma furiously. Pansy caught my stare. I didn't return her smile. It was the most unfeeling thing that I'd ever seen.

"Aww, stupid girl jumped in the way. I tried killing the boy. I think someone has been around the gryffindors a little too much."

"Pansy." The only words that left my lips. She laughed and walked right past me.

"What are you gonna do? You can't kill me. I'm the only heir worthy of Emma's old position. See you later boyfriend."

My throat was too tight to speak. I dropped to my knees before Emma.

She lay unspeaking, unseeing. Cody held her limp body. I touched her rosy cheek and brushed away her long brown hair.

"How could you let this happen?" I asked in a barely audible voice. At first, I thought that I was speaking to Cody. Then, as I gazed down at the girl before me, I realized that I was asking no one but myself. I couldn't think of anything but of her in that moment.

Now, she'd slipped out of my hands again. I just couldn't seem to keep a hold of her. Now, she was gone forever…

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Yeah, this would also be dramatic if there wasn't a chapter right after this. Is it still dramatic? No? Yes? Not really? I don't know. I've read it over since almost 3 years. I've got lots of thoughts. What are your's? R&R


	12. Open Your Eyes

Okay, so for those of you who have read the story. I told you that the girl in this chapter was gonna be summer. I've changed my mind. I've made a different story line for Summer. It's not even gonna be called Summer anymore. It's gonna be called Lost&Found. But that's another story. The point is that the girl's identity has changed. So just so you know.

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Chapter 12-Open Your Eyes

The passing hours seemed to be going on so slowly, trudging through mile deep sludge. The distortion of time escaped me. For hours at a time, I could hear everything. I could hear Madame Pomfrey shooing away the students who weren't supposed to be there or scolding herself for forgetting something. At other times, it was like I'd slipped out of existence. I couldn't hear anything; it was like sleeping without a dream. Right now, I was in existence. Two voices were present at the time. They sounded muffled as if I was hearing it through a door.

"I wish she would just wake up...I still don't understand why she's not dead." One voice said. I could almost recognize it. It was soft and gentle with a slight shake of worry.

The other voice was rougher. It was filled with angst and was so cold. It almost sent shivers through me. I couldn't feel my body though. "Shut up, Anderson. This wouldn't have happened if your cousin was there."

"You think Kim could've stopped this. You've got too much faith in her. She's a ditz-"

"She's reliable- unlike some blood traitors that I know."

I knew who was talking now. I wanted to punch Draco. This was not Cody's fault. I wanted to tell him what I was thinking. _'I'm the one who jumped in front of him. I was protecting him. It's not Cody's job to protect me.'_ I couldn't budge though. I was stripped down in what I was positive was a bed in the infirmary.

"Your girlfriend's one of those blood traitors." Cody replied quietly.

There was silence between the two boys. I couldn't possibly imagine what was going on. I just silently wondered what Draco was thinking. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to feel his skin against mine. I wanted to make sure that he was alright. I wanted to knock some sense into him. I couldn't though. My heart dropped when I heard footsteps fading away. Then, I slipped back out of existence.

Draco's POV

I touched her hand. It was as cool as stone. There was no movement from her. I squeezed it for an instant. There was no reaction. I caressed it for a moment hoping to see even a flinch, but nothing prevailed.

"I should've stopped her from going to those stupid meetings. You should've talked her out of it." I grumbled trying to catch a small intake or outtake of her breath. If I didn't know better, I would've thought that she was dead. Only, she was breathing and her heart was beating.

"She wouldn't have listened. You know that." Cody said from his chair on the other side of her. He leaned as far back as he could. I knew he hated being around me. For some reason, he always came even though he knew I was in the infirmary.

"I know a lot of things." I knew that everyone thought that I was getting obsessive over Emma. I've been to the infirmary every day since she was put here. She hadn't even made so much as a twitch. "What I want to know is why she hasn't woken up yet."

I knew this is what was truly bothering Anderson. I looked up at him and watched the emotions playing on his face. His eyebrows drooped as he stared longingly at Emma. "A lot of the teachers have been saying that she might not wake up. Since the spell wasn't directed at her, but it's still the killing curse, it won't kill her. They say it has an irreversible-"

"Shut up, Anderson."

"It's been a month already. If she hasn't woken up by now...I don't think..."

"She saved your life. You should be a little more hopeful because if she doesn't, it'll be your fault."

"What about Pansy? She's the one who did this." Anderson kicked his chair back. Anger flared in his fearful eyes. "We'd been going for weeks and everything was fine. You were the one leading everyone away. Why couldn't you have kept Pansy away-off our trail?" Once the realization of what he just did sunk in, he backed away a step and waited for me to reply.

I glared at him but didn't get up. I looked down at Emma and pulled her hand up to my lips placing a small kiss on her fingertips.

"Pansy will get what's coming to her. If Emma dies, you can bet that I will kill Pansy myself. Your cousin could always take Emma's place. There's no way Pansy will ever be the heir to all that power. Not anymore."

For an instant, I felt myself crumbling in the pain that I worked so hard to compose. Anger shot through my veins as I stared at Emma's sleeping figure. Her dark hair was framing her face. Everything about her was so lifeless. I walked to the infirmary every day hoping that she'd be awake and getting ready to yell at me for something that I said or done. I didn't care what she said. I just wanted to kiss her. I didn't go to the library, but I knew that Granger would be there looking for a way to reverse the spell. I'd gone so far as believing the old muggle tales of the prince who saves his princess by kissing her and breaking the spell. I would never try such nonsense though.

Anderson didn't miss a beat of this. He looked back at Emma and sighed. "You really love her, don't you?"

"Get out of here Anderson." I barked.

"I think it's best if you both be off now. Visiting hours are over." Madame Pomfrey said pushing a cart full of potions. At first, I thought she was talking to me and Anderson, but behind her stood three people. She swung around and put her dainty hands on her hips with a scowl on her mouth.

"One minute please, Madame." Granger begged. "We just want to drop off some cards for Emma."

Pomfrey glared at the three gryffindors but then sighed scolding them again. "I shouldn't be doing this, but fine. One minute and then all of you should be off to bed." She then made her way back to the medicine office leaving the five of us alone. I glared openly at them.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" I asked standing up. "Especially you Weasel-bee. Aren't you the one that said you were going to break Emma's neck?" I'd heard lots of things about the night of the DA fiasco. I also heard from Mark Quibley some of the things that Weasley had said about Emma.

The venom poured out of my words. I was glad to see the chills that ran through them. I wondered if the same would've happened to Emma. Probably not. She'd somehow become prone to not caring that I was angry.

"I didn't mean that. I was just-" Ron stuttered looking down at the hazel floors, ashamed. I saw full justice in the way he felt. I really didn't give a damn about his feelings when Emma was lying in a bed fighting for her life.

"We just came to see our friend. If I do recall, being our friend never got her into this much danger." Hermione interjected.

"But that Army did. I wouldn't have let this happen."

"You could've easily controlled Pansy. She's one of your girls, isn't she? I'm surprised that Emma put up with it as long as she did."

"You don't know anything. This is your fault." I said louder than before. The anger continued to build in me. I clenched my shaking hands.

"Stop trying to blame everyone else Malfoy. Whatever's going on with the slytherins, it's gotten Emma hurt. I suggest that you handle whatever's going on by the time she wakes up-if she wakes up that is." Potter shouted at me.

"Listen Potter-"

"Alright, that's enough. Off to bed all of you." Pomfrey shouted running over to us. "This is neither the time nor place for this. Let Ms. Paniettiere got her rest and soon she'll be able to vouch for herself. Now all of you, off to bed."

I grudgingly glanced back at Emma one last time and trudged out of the infirmary. Granger placed three cards on Emma's nightstand and left the room patting Cody on the shoulder as Potter and Weasley followed after her. I left out behind Cody, my feet dragging me away from her once more. The last thing that I thought, as I did every night was, _'You better wake up tomorrow Paniettiere. We need you...'_

I refused to think anything else as I closed the tall wooden, glass paned doors.

~~~Emma~~~

This was like a dream. I knew it was a dream, but it still felt so real. My eyes were closed. I stood alone in what felt like nothing. I knew there was so much more to it. The air smelled different. It was of some tree that I couldn't recall and so fresh. As I opened my eyes, there was still nothing, but light everywhere. It was so bright, but I couldn't see anything past it. My other senses were stronger though. I could hear chirping birds now, a lark perhaps. There were tweets here and there. I could smell a mixture of elm and pine cones.

Then, right out of the light, a girl walked towards me. She had long hair that was pulled up into a messy bun. She wore baggy black sweat pants and a tight grey t-shirt. She squinted her eyes at see me, and when her sight was adjusted, she still looked just as surprised to see me as I was to see her. She hit herself gently on the forehead. It wasn't like she was surprised by the situation, but embarrassed that she hadn't realized what was going on sooner. She just shook her head.

"You're Emma, right?" She asked to me.

"Yeah, do I know you?" I asked. My voice surprised me. It rang softly in my ears like bells. It sounded unusually gently which contrasted greatly from the way I usually heard it.

"No, but I know you. At least, I feel as though I do. So, I guess you've died, huh?" She wondered lightly.

Neither of us moved from our spots. We were probably both afraid of the other. I stood there wondering who the girl was with her dusty blue eyes and dark brown hair that had a strange red tint to it.

"Is this what it's like to be dead then?" I asked her.

She ignored my question by looking up as if she saw something that I didn't. She pondered openly squinting her eyes and moving them steadily as if she saw something above our heads. I looked for what she saw, but there was nothing but white light warming my face. "No, this is different. I can feel it. I can't feel you. You're still alive, where ever you are."

I shook my head and took one step closer to her. "Where am I?"

"I don't know," She said and focused her eyes back on me, "Somewhere I've never been. You must not be dead, but you won't wake up."

I watched her intently. She was strange. She looked down at the ground and her eyes widened for a second before she looked back at me fiercely.

"Don't hold yourself here. There are people waiting on you. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Cody Anderson, Kimberly Cross, and, most of all, Draco Malfoy. He's calling you back. He just wants you to open your eyes."

"What? I'm looking right at you." I exclaimed. I stepped back from this girl. She must have been crazy.

"Just open your eyes Emma. They need you." She said.

I took another step back and heard a crack. I looked down. We were suddenly floating in the air with nothing holding us there but a glass plane. I look back at her and there were clouds surrounding us. Chirping birds were perched on the tall trees. I had no time to think how trees could grow so high.

"Just open your eyes."

I watched the girl calming stare pierce my eyes. I felt penetrated. It was like she looked right into my soul. There was an odd feeling of a claw pulling at my unmoving body. It went in right from my throat and yanked at my chest. Then, at my last glance at her, the claw released me, and I was falling. There was no time to see anything. I sped right past all the sights as the air and light clouded my vision. The light seemed to fade into darkness. I shut my eyes tighter as the air burned my eyes. Still I could hear the girl's voice ringing in my ears, steadily changing into a rougher sound.

"Open your eyes Em. Just open your eyes. Please."

The vision of the girl began to fade. Slowly, I forgot her appearance, her eyes, her hair. It all slipped away until there was nothing but the changing voice. I tried to listen to it as I clutched onto the memory. Whether it was a conscious one or not, I couldn't lose it. I felt like there was severe importance to it, but still it faded away. I thought that if I obeyed the voice that the image of the girl would come back. I pushed at my lashes, batting them furiously until they did what I wanted them to do. I worked my lids, fighting against the wind. The more I tried, the weaker the wind got. Suddenly it was gone, and I was laying down. I opened my eyes and gazed upon the person before me.

"Emma."

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I don't have much to say. Just R&R, keep on reading, and tell you friends of the FF world about my story.

Love you kindly

OCGirl


	13. Awake

Chapter 13-Awake

"Emma."

I fluttered my eyes a few more times trying to adjust to the scene before me. There was Draco staring at me. It took me by surprise. He was actually smiling. I sat up slowly, my limbs still stiff from the lack of movement. I smiled, stretching my numb lips. I glanced around the room.

It was still the same infirmary-the same stony floor and the same lumpy beds with the same ugly blue sheets. I focused my eyes back on Draco who was still grinning ear to ear.

"Hey, stranger." Seeing his face, my heart fluttered. It seemed to be ages since I'd seen his face, smelled his cologne. I lifted my arms to touch his face. I hadn't noticed how tense his face was until I smoothed away the wrinkles on his forehead.

"Emma." He whispered again. For an instant, I saw him, the real Draco again. He looked weary. His hand clutched my hand that wasn't on his face. Then, his mask came back up. I released my other hand and placed it on his other cheek hoping that I could pull the mask away.

I pulled his face closer to mine. I just wanted to kiss his lips. His hands reached up and went to pull my hands away, but instead they just laid there waiting for me to move.

"Say something Emma." He whispered again. I couldn't find anything to say though, nothing to express this sudden feeling anyway. I just leaned forward and pulled his lips to mine feeling them as if they were brand new. I wasn't sure why I felt this. I just knew that he wanted me here more than anything. I was glad for that. I just knew.

Then, the moment was washed away as I heard a voice. "Emma, you're awake. Thank Merlin." Hermione shouted. She slammed the door behind her and ran up to me and Draco.

I dropped my hands as the door re-opened. In walked Cody, Ginny, Harry, and then Ron. I pulled my smile back on and avoided Draco's glare.

"Hey, Emma. How are you?" Hermione pulled me into a tight hug. Then, Ginny pushed Cody out of the way to steal a hug before Cody got his hug. Then Harry gave me a tight embraced but didn't quite release me. He sat on the edge of the bed and grinned at me. My peripheral vision showed Ron looking at me looking grave as ever.

"I'm okay. I'm just a bit stiff. Don't look so sad Ron. I'm alive and well. I'm perfectly fine."

"Yeah right. Do you know how long you've been laying in this bed? We thought you were brain dead." Ginny gasped sitting right beside me.

I couldn't keep my eyes away from Draco that long. I kept glancing at him. Even as I felt how uncomfortable he was around all of these people and he got up, I wanted to pull him back down. He somehow found a way to the end of the bed and away from the group. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression.

"I'll be going then. I'll see you later Emma. Everyone will be glad to hear that you've finally rose from the dead." He said with his Draco smirk re-appearing. There was a shadow of something in it, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. I felt that he didn't want leave. I watched as he dragged his feet all the way to the wooden door and pulled the handle to close the door.

I stared at the door even as Harry was speaking to me. "You really scared us. We heard you scream, and when we came around the corner you were laying on the floor and Malfoy and Cody were there shaking you. We thought you died."

I tore my eyes away from the door and smiled at them. "I'm fine. I just need to get my second wind. Next time, Pansy's going down."

Hermione shook her head. She was at the end of the bed patting my feet. "Unfortunately, she's nowhere to be found. She disappeared from the school after your accident. No one knows where she is."

This was no surprise. I doubt that even Pansy could've gotten away with using the killing curse on another student on school grounds. I didn't have to think of where she would go. She won't go very far. She still would have to take my place at Voldemort's side. There was no way I would let her though. She really would have to kill me, and with all the people avenging me, she wouldn't get anywhere near to my position. "Don't worry about it." I say calmly.

Ginny grinned and patted my shoulder. "On another note, you seem to look better. Doesn't she Ron?"

I glanced up at Ron. He was still staring intently at the floor, but he nodded. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and his sleeves were rolled up in their usual way. His blazing red hair hid his eyes from me, but I could tell that he felt bad about something. Just then, he looked up at me and shook his head.

"We're glad that you're back, Emma...I'm glad you're back. I was worried-well worried for Hermione and Ginny since they were so worried-and...and-"

I could tell that he was struggling to get through this halfway apology. It was amusingly refreshing from the usual guarded Ron. "It's okay Ron. I know what you're trying to say. I know that you don't think that it was my fault. I think it actually was though. Someone was following me, Ginny, and Hermione to the door. It was most likely Pansy. She was just waiting for the perfect moment to get us. I'm really sorry, but you have to know that Cody and I love you all. We'd never do that to the DA."

Hermione nodded and passed a glare to Ron. "He knows that. He's just too stubborn to admit it."

"It's okay," I digressed, "It's hard trusting people who you've been taught to hate. I'll forgive him if he forgives me."

The way he stared at the door as I explained myself told me that he positively knew about me and Draco. I brushed it off. This was far from the time to worry about that.

"What does he need to forgive you about?" Harry asked utterly confused. He looked at the stares that passed between me and Ron.

"Nothing too important I hope." I said. I was sure that Hermione caught the glance I gave her.

She sighed and clamped Harry on the shoulder. "I think we'd better leave. We've still got some classes today. Come on."

As they made their way out and said their goodbyes to me, I called Ron back just as he was leaving out the door.

"Ron..."

He turned to me knowingly. All he said was, "He comes here all the time-everyday, sometimes twice a day."

"Ron, I-"

"I've never known a Malfoy to be in love." He said and closed the door behind him.

I sighed and grabbed my pillow. I pulled up my knees and sat there for a while. Hopefully, Madame Pomfrey would let me get out of this horrid room soon. I didn't think I wanted to be in here for another second.

There was only one person I wanted to see. An overwhelming feeling overtook me, and I suddenly couldn't wait. I probably wouldn't get out until tomorrow.

I was sure that Draco would be there the next morning to get me at that time. He didn't show up though. He wasn't in the common room when I got there either. Kim was still coiled up in her bed. I just let her lay there. She looked unreasonably comfortable. I decided that he would be in the Great Hall. On my way, I could barely believe some of the things that people were saying.

"Alright, Paniettiere is back in the game." Blaise hooted the next morning at the slytherin breakfast table.

"Oh joy," called one of Pansy's goonies. I didn't really pay attention to her at all. I was stunned to see all the people coming up to me.

They were all _mostly 'Emma, were you really a part of Dumbledore's Army,'_ and_ 'You took on Pansy? Wow, she's so scared. She actually ran away from Hogwarts because she was too afraid of what you'd do when you woke up.'_ Even Fred and George came up to me telling me how _bloody brilliant_ the fight must've been.

These accusations mostly came from the damage that was down to the corridor in which the fight took place. Some chunks in the walls were gone completely. I was in shock when I saw the pictures that Colin Creevy took of it. It was headlined in underground photos saying, _'DA Training Prevails'_ and _'Paniettiere Forever' _(This one created in case I died).

"Wow, how much did I miss?" I whispered into Draco's ear as I caught sight of him and took my usual seat beside him. The girls glared daggers at me, but today all I saw was Draco. The pull seemed suddenly so much stronger.

"A lot." Was all he said and he continued eating.

I was taken aback by his distance. I stayed calm and continued on nonchalantly as possible. "Really, can I get an update?" I asked scooting closer to him.

Instead of Draco answering, Crabbe opened his mouth that was half full of rice pudding and something else that I didn't want to think too hard about. "Well, that loony headmaster has gone missing-disappeared right out of his office. Pansy's gone somewhere. It's supposed to be some secret place that no one can get to, but she's probably just in Tahiti getting a tan. Then, what happened to you- congratulations. You've got the respect of the heirs now. Oh, yeah! There's been a rise in attacks, and they still don't have the faintest clue to who it is if you get my drift. I think that's it."

I grinded my teeth and nodded, "Thank you Vincent. You're very informed." Then, I turned back to Draco. "So, when do we continue our lessons?" I asked. He swallowed his last bit of toast and grabbed his bag.

"We should get to class." He said. He didn't wait for me. He just began his stride out of the Great Hall.

I was stunned, but I still followed. This went on for the entire day. He barely said a single word to me. He seemed colder than ever.

I was walking with Kim when she finally decided to wake up and go to class.

"I'm so glad that you're awake. I went to see you yesterday morning, but you didn't even wake up until that afternoon. It was so lonely in that room without you. Draco's been fucking horrible." She told me as we turned the corner. We didn't pay attention at all during class. We found seats in the back and whispered to each other.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked fully concerned.

"I think you scared him. Losing you is probably… never mind, never mind…"

I watched as she shook her head. She chuckled quietly and ran her fingers through her dark black hair thinking about something.

"No, tell me." I said rolling my parchment up slowly.

She glanced at me and then opened her parchment as if she was going to take notes. She twirled her quill and let the ink drip onto the paper. It sunk in and spread like a disease. I watched it instead of my friend.

"I was going to say that losing you is probably the worst thing that could ever happen to him. You should've seen him Emma. When you were asleep," she whispered still in deep thought. She refused to say coma and her grin slipped away, "He went to the infirmary every day. Besides classes, that's where he was. You know, the reason I didn't go to the infirmary too often is because, well I think he would've been better off alone with you. I didn't want to tell Cody, but one day I was going up to the infirmary to see you-had flowers and everything-but I heard Draco behind the curtain. He was talking to you. He kept telling you to wake up, and…he admitted something that I'd never thought that he'd admit. Then a couple of days later, he said it to my face."

She let out a breath, still with obvious shock gripping her. She continued to shake her head and began drawing random patterns on her parchment.

"What did he say?" I asked after a few minutes. I didn't look at her. I was too scared to. I just waited. I didn't think she would answer me. We sat in silence, but just as we left class she stood by the door.

"He told me that he loved you. He said that he'd never loved anyone before. Then, you came along and," she laughed quietly in the noisy corridor, "took his heart from him."

I stood in shock. I blinked my eyes. Then I began to laugh with her. "Wow." I said. I placed my hand on my forehead and repeated in an inaudible voice, "Wow."

"You've stolen his heart Emma." She said, tauntingly.

That explained everyone being so passive about Draco. Now, I needed to figure out was wrong with him. I pulled my eyebrows together and began walking again. "Then, what's wrong with him?"

She shrugged glad to lighten the mood. "He's probably just still in shock. He'll get over it."

I waited and waited, but he didn't seem to warm up to me at all. He still ignored me. He barely even looked at me. I didn't want to think that Kim was lying, but it was hard to believe that he was in love with me. Finally, during lunch I pulled him into a doorway arch leading out to Hagrid's hut and talked to him.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked in a low voice.

He avoided my eyes staring directly past me. There was no emotion in his face at all. I wondered if he'd always looked this way and I just didn't notice it until now, or if this was a result of something that I'd done.

"Draco, say something. I thought out of all people that you'd be glad to see me out of that bed. Draco, are you listening to me? You're the one who told me to wake up. You told me to open my eyes."

He shot his eyes toward me then. He stared fiercely at me. "You heard me?"

I didn't know where the thought came from. All I could remember was the feeling of falling and a voice telling me to open my eyes. It sounded strangely like Draco's voice, but there was something else. I couldn't quite recall...

"Yes, I woke up. Why wouldn't I?" I decided to say.

He averted his eyes again and his face began to lose its emotion again. I shook my head and pulled him outside around the corner of the wall. I was sure that no one was watching us. I pulled his lips down to mine. This is what I thirsted for. The way it called to me pulling me towards him. What had this feeling caused- this change in me?

"Merlin, Draco. It feels like it's been ages." I laughed putting my forehead on his chest.

He was hesitant to place his arms around me. "Emma?"

I sighed and lifted my head. "Yes." I breathed. The cold air let my breath puff out up into the air.

"I-Let's go. We have to eat." He said shaking his head and releasing me.

I stood my ground and pulled him back. "Haven't you missed me at all Draco?" I asked. I'm not even sure how I knew what he wanted to say, but I knew. I looked into his eyes and knew. "You probably don't even care that I was almost killed do you?" I accused with a sly grin. The wind blew my brown hair across my face as if it was shielding me from his anger, or whatever emotion that he was feeling.

His eyebrows drew together. "How could you say that? I thought that you were dead!" He seethed.

I lifted my hands up and rolled my eyes. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true! Em, you don't know what it was like-to see you there, and Pansy- You wouldn't mo-I couldn't even hear you breathing."

I pulled my hair back and my grin went away. I saw again the brooding person I'd seen in the infirmary. His eyes looked sad and hurt. I touched his hand and pulled it close to me.

"Draco, I-I'm sorry. I didn't know that I scared you that much. I-"

He pulled my hand up to his chest wrapping his other arm around me. He pulled me close to him. The wind started up again, but I didn't feel the cold air this time. My face was hidden in Draco's robes.

"Just don't do that again." He whispered.

I nodded furiously not daring to say anything else but, "Okay Draco, okay."

After a moment we pulled away from each other. Draco didn't look as hurt as he did before, and his smirk wasn't the Draco smirk that I'd always know, but he grinned and pulled me along through the arch again. He even turned around once and kissed me before we went back into the Great Hall.

Back at the table, he pulled me into his arms and talked with everyone. I didn't say anything as he pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear, "I told you that you'd love me one day."

I just shook my head and grinned, knowing that he wasn't the one with the upper hand in this love game. It was like a twenty-two catch. No matter how much Draco and I fought against what each other and what we wanted, neither of us seemed to get anywhere. We always ended up together and back at square one. There was no way of winning, but I didn't think that we'd lost just yet.

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For those who've previously read the story, I did change this last bit. It was just too cheesy for me when I read it again. Anyway... R&R my lovelies!


	14. Blood Tickets

Hey guys, so this is way overdue! I know, I know. I've already told you the million and one excuses. I'm please to tell you that I have this chapter and the next chapter done already. I've just got to go through and do some grammar checks. I've gone through and fixed the errors in the previous chapters. If you still see any errors please tell me. I'm not sure if you like it, but it's something right?

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Chapter 14-Blood Tickets

The night was starry. Ron was alone in the quite Gryffindor common room. He had his forefinger tapping his top lip, his eyes set but dazed. He did this a lot lately. He stared into the fire. There was something about the flames. There seemed to be a story in it, with an ending that Ron could never possibly imagine. Something actually was in the fire though.

In seconds, it blazed up high, singeing the edge of the stones and turned a deep blue. Out whisked a cloaked figure, frightening. Black robes seemed to reach up to the ceiling and flow all around the room. They bellowed out and seemed to reach back into the fireplace. Ron jumped out of the big chair that he'd been resting in.

"Ronald Weasley, I've been searching for you." A cloaked figure hissed.

"What?" Ron stuttered. Terror gripped his body. To say the very least, he was shaken. He clutched the armrest as he tried to make out the person's face. "Y-you've been searching...for me?"

"I've got a secret. What will you do to keep it?"

I had a hard time getting back on track after the whole ordeal after the quidditch match. It felt like nothing was real. Was it a dream...or not?

I tapped my pencil anxiously as I watched the clock tick-tock against the high stone wall. There was nothing interesting about Potions nowadays. All we did was take notes. I sighed and crossed my leg over the other one and tapped my pencil louder against the desk.

Draco pressed my hand against it to stop the sound. I looked down from the clock at Draco. He nudged his head just enough for me to notice the professor glaring at me. I smiled and opened my notebook. Once he continued on with his lecture I sighed again and cupped my chin with my hand.

Once we were out of class, Draco shook his head and scolded me. Annoyance played on his strong features. "What's wrong with you today?" he asked walking down to the court yard.

There was noticeably less snow on the frozen branches. Even a few birds trickled in every day or so. This didn't heighten my spirits at all though. I looked around searching for nothing in particular. It was more of just observing the scenery.

"It's been a week-a week of nothing. Where the hell has Pansy gotten to?" I groaned. I hate to think of all the chaos she could wreak out there with no one watching her. I bit my lip as I glanced over at her old goonies. There were still stuck up and ridiculous. They sent daggers my way as their eyes bore into my back. I shook my head and sighed. "They must know where she is."

Draco nodded. "No, they don't. It would have been all over the school by now. I bet they've heard from her, but they have no idea where she is."

"Well, that sucks." I sighed. The butterflies in my stomach flapped uncontrollably causing me to wrap my arms around my torso, not that it did any good. "You know what? I'm gonna head up to the common room. I feel a bit ill."

His eyes shifted to me before he turned completely. He ran his hand across my cheek before nodding. I smiled at how sweet Draco had become. It was of course caused by my near death experience, but who was complaining? Everyone in the school pretty much knew that Draco and I were together now even though Harry was still in denial. I hadn't told him straight forward either. Sure, it was selfish of me to keep on the good side of Harry, but I liked it that way. Harry and I had never fought before, and I didn't want it to happen anytime soon.

"Okay, I'll see you later." He said before dropping his hand and heading down to his next class.

I watched him round the corner before I turned back towards the dungeons. I didn't really want to go back down there. Instead, I headed up to the Room of Requirement. I was sure it'd have something to settle my stomach.

After the classes began, the corridors were pretty empty with the exception of the students with free periods. There was no one on the same floor as the Room of Requirement either.

I found myself walking past the door three times. It revealed a smaller common room. It had a fireplace at the far wall and lots of dark brown sofas and chairs. I settled myself in one and drifted off to sleep, not even bothering to let my thoughts get the best of me, but my dreams were an entirely different thing.

_I ran down a hall. I was running from someone, or chasing someone. I saw legs turn the corner, and so did I. It was a dark room. I was scared. I couldn't see the person's face, but the figure pulled out their wand._

_Tears ran down my face. I looked around the dark room. I held up my hand and shook my head. My lips were moving but I couldn't tell what I was saying. I could feel myself getting louder, but I still couldn't hear myself. Shadow reached down from the ceiling and became long black figures. I saw lots of figures, but they seemed to be shadows instead of people. I didn't know why. I shook my head frantically with confusion. My breath was stuck in my lungs. I forced it out with a ragged huff. _

"_No..."_

"_Yes." Someone hissed behind me._

"_I-I can't."_

_I looked back to see nothing but a giant slimy smile. "Well then..."_

_I turned back around. The figures were now surrounding me. One figure I recognized. His short platinum blond hair could be spotted anywhere._

_Blue shots then came at me from every direction. I gasped at the chills it sent through me. I should've been moving, running to get out of the way of the attack. But my legs were too numb to help me escape. I stared down, horrified hoping to take at least one step to get away. I idly placed my hand on my torso. Suddenly, my arms went numb, freezing in place, and now unmovable. My head pounded and my ears thrummed like people were screaming in my ear, even though the only thing that pulsed the air was the silence. My ears burned as I gazed up. _

_"Draco…" I rasped._

I woke with a start, but instead of waking up in a calm, the flames in the fireplace rose up to the ceiling and turned black. A figure formed in a cloaked robe. I couldn't make out the face, but I couldn't believe my eyes. The cloak seemed to fill up the room and surround me. It was like wild fire, but it kept its form until the black cloth reached back into the fireplace and turned a violent red again.

The voice that came from it was a quiet hiss. "You've got a secret Ms. Paniettiere. What will you do to keep it?"

I gapped at the female voice. I stood from my seat and try to see beneath the figure's hood.

"What? Whatever Pansy…That's enough for one day." I said pulling out my wand.

"What will you do to keep your secret pureblood? Remember that you may only bring one, but not of equal prestige."

"What the bloody hell?"

"Only one Emma Paniettiere."

Then, the black cloak receded back into the flames. The only trace a white envelope with bloody red letters written on the front with my name on it.

_Dear Ms. Emma Clarissa Paniettiere,  
_

_You are cordially invited to attend_

_The Prestigious Golden Ball_

_For up-in-coming stars of the Wizarding World_

_Please join us with one guest of your own _

_Presented by_

_The Ministry of Magic_

Cornelius Fudge,_ Minister of Magic_

"Oh, that has Narcissa and Lucius written all over it. It's just a Ministry ball that happens every year. You have to be a purblood to get a ticket, and have a certain level of power." Blaise said later that night. "Sad though, Kim didn't get one. Any bet it's because of her cousin. I guess it's good though. She might not be on the list… you know?"

I sat beside him in the common room and put the note in my bag. I assumed the list was of the future death eaters. Anything with Lucius Malfoy was automatically deemed as bad. "Well, what did that creepy lady mean…equal prestige?"

He sank further into the couch and yawned. "It means that you can't invite anyone who already has an invitation. Like I have an invitation, so you can't ask me to be your date…even though I know you want to…"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Oh shut up. So, I assume that Draco's gotten an invitation too."

"If he hasn't, then he'll be getting it tonight."

"Who got what?" Draco asked hopping over the sofa and landing swiftly in between Blaise and I.

"You've got your Blood Ticket." Blaise stated.

I saw the gold envelope in his hands. Draco slipped it into his bag and nodded. With a yawn he laid his head back. "Yeah, I was just going to ask-"

Just as Draco turned to me, I pulled out my golden envelope and waved it in his face. "Sorry, I've got one this year."

"Well, they're just giving one to everyone this year." Draco spat playfully. "So, I guess you'll be taking Blaise then?"

"Sorry mate, I've got one too." Blaise laughed.

Then, the three of us sat in there in an exasperated silence. I flipped the gold thing over in my hands again and again. A few minutes went by before anyone spoke again. It was Blaise.

"I guess I'll be taking Kimberly." He murmured. "She'll be looking forward to it. She was quite annoyed that she didn't get one this year."

"I guess I can take Millicent..." Draco said slowly.

Blaise and I looked at each other, and then the quiet was filled with laughter. We roared and Blaise stomped his foot repeatedly. Once we stopped, Draco was glaring at the pair of us. Blaise just shook his head and kept the good humor. "No way, mate."

"Draco, she looks like a man." I told him still laughing. I held my stomach and laughed some more. "I guess that'll be alright. I've got no competition then."

"Honestly Em, you should be insulted. To think that he would choose someone so repulsive- he's not even trying to make you jealous." Blaise replied.

"Well, who are you taking then?" Draco asked me. I calmed down and looked at him thoughtfully.

"I don't know…"Then I chuckled a bit more before saying, "But you can bet it'll be better the Millicent."

Draco rolled his eyes and smacked Blaise in the face with a pillow that was thrown to the floor from all the laughing. After they began to bicker about how different their dates were, I went and pulled up what I thought was my back and went to grab my Potions book. I sighed with a tight grin on my lips as I flipped through the pages. A loose page fell out. Curiously, I opened it. I didn't remember writing any notes to anyone lately. She read it, her grin falling from her face.

Dear Draco,

I am well aware of the deal we made with the Paniettiere family, but my recent findings are making me a bit skeptical. I don't trust that girl. I don't like her one bit. After all this time, I haven't heard news of a single report on her task. I don't want you to let her out of your sight for too long as of today. You remember the deal we made a few weeks ago after the ordeal with the Parkinson girl. Don't fail me Draco.

Hoping you are well,

Lucius Malfoy

I folded the letter up quickly and set it back in the bag. I took a look at it and noticed the silver plaque with Draco's initials on it. I set it down and picked up my bag trying hard to push everything from my mind and focus on my Potions essay.

"Everything okay?" Draco asked.

I glanced up, but didn't meet is eyes. He looked over his shoulder at me. I pulled him close to me and kissed his cheek. "Nope, I just realized that I haven't started my essay, but it's due in two days."

He nodded and pulled my book away from me, quickly flipping to a page. He then handed it back to me. "Start there."

I nodded and began to read.

"Alright, we're moving on to death draughts." Draco stated.

"What?" I asked as I stared at the table.

We were in an empty classroom. It was an old Potions room that wasn't used anymore. There were flasks and ingredients scattered all over a large brewing table. He and I both had a cauldron over a dimly lit flame.

Draco kept focused eyes over his cauldron as he added small pellets to the concoction. I sat on a stool watching him.

"What do I need to learn this for?" I asked, observing a small Tentacular leaf.

He glanced at me and looked back down, but I still saw the shift in his mouth and the guarded clouds that now hovered over his grey eyes. "It's a good idea to weaken Granger up before you actually fight her."

"I'm not poisoning Hermione." I said glaring at him. I dropped the leaf on the table and shook my head.

He didn't even look up. He just observed the potion and wrote on a parchment. "Well, we have to make the fight as easy as possible."

"I might kill her."

"Isn't that the point?" He murmured cutting a bean in three pieces and dropping them into the potion. He then continued to write.

I pulled the parchment away from him and held it in the air. "We're not doing this. I'm not…"

"You're the one who wanted to get back to training." Draco reminded me.

I gaped at him. For a while, I was begging him to get back to the task of killing Hermione Granger. "I only said that to talk to you. I just wanted you to stop acting weird."

Draco sighed stirring the smoky liquid. "Emma."

I shook my head. "Your father put you up to this, didn't he? I saw the letter."

Draco glanced at me. "So, we're snooping again, are we?" He didn't seem particularly mad, but there was a hint of annoying.

My brown eyes narrowed beneath my dark bangs. "So we're keeping secrets again, are we?"

Draco put the spoon down and stared directly into my eyes. "What do I mean to you, Emma? Am I a joke to you?"

I blinked. My face became blank. "You mean the world to me Draco."

"Then, please listen to me closely when I say this. It's not just your arse on the line here. Think about me, my parents…your parents. We're all depending on you to keep us alive."

"But-"

"_But-_If you're willing to risk all of our lives to save the life of one little mudblood, then obviously we mean nothing to you."

My eyebrows drew together. I stared at Draco for a long time. He didn't make a single movement. His grey eyes stayed on my, penetrating me. My lips pressing in a hard line, my fingers scratched the side of the table quietly. "That's just your father talking."

"It's not Emma. I've been thinking about this ever since that first day Potter and Weasley first talked to you in the Great Hall. You have no idea where your loyalties lay…It makes me wonder-"

I looked down and shook my head. I couldn't take the brooding eyes. "It's not that simple."

"It is." He snapped back.

"No it's not."

"The simple matter of the fact, Emma, if you don't kill Hermione Granger-"

"Draco-"

"Then you've already sentenced us all to death. You, me-"

"Draco!"

"And everyone else that you say you love."

I looked up and glared at him, but tears were forming in my eyes. He kept his calm physique the entire time. I sighed in frustration and brought my hands up to my face. I felt confused, ashamed, and so many other things. Draco didn't make anything easier on me either. I cried silently.

Soon Draco took me into his arms. I felt his hand running down my long brown hair. I inhaled and looked up at him. "I'm not wrong Draco."

He grinned. "No, just confused."

I shook my head. "No, you don't understand. I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to fall in love with you. I didn't want to be best friends with a crazy fashion designer and a book worm. I didn't want to be mates with an overly enthusiastic quidditch player, or the Chosen One. I didn't want to have to kill anyone. I didn't want any of it."

"Em-"

"_But,_ I did. I fell in love with a slithering who's probably going to be the right hand man to the most hated man in the magical world. I decided that, and Hermione didn't try to change my mind. I love Hermione. She's been there for me. I just can't betray her."

Draco looked down at me his eyes dark. "Some things we just have to do. Soon enough, you'll know what the right thing will be."

"I won't let the Dark Lord hurt you anyone else. I'll come up with something."

He pulled me into a tight hug. "I hope you do Emma. I hope you do."

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Okay, that's it for Chapter 14. I hoped you liked it. It was pretty long, not as long as others but it's got a good length. Next will be Chapter 15. It's currently titled _A Good Day_, but it could change later.

Also, I was going to change the title, but I inserted the phrase into the story. I'm not sure if it's too cheesy, but oh well.

Lastly, I just wanted you guys to know where I'm at with the story. I'm writing a character guide, so if I don't get Chapter 16 up, then the guide will definitely be up next. I know that I have a small handful of unimportant OCs, and I'd just like it as a personal reference to keep track of my lovely characters. I've got outlines for the last three chapters. Yes, there are only 18 chapters…depending on how much I write. Don't fret though. I have a rough draft of the SEQUEL. I'll explain in the guide. Matter of fact- I'll make it a background/guide. I'll tell you all about it. I'm really excited. So recap:

Got Chapter 15

Got outlines for 16-18

Got rough drafts for sequel

Got a reader's guide/background info to scrape up for you all

Peace, Love, and Reviews!


	15. A Good Day

Hola! I've gotten the chapter up and it hasn't been a year! Hold for the applause...Yes, yes. Thank you. I hope you guys like this chapter. It's about 1,500 more words than I'm used to. Not very eventful, but hey. I'm currently working on Chapter 16-The Note. Right now, at this very moment. I've also created a banner for the story. I'll have it up on HPFF, so swing by and see it in a few days.

R&R!

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Chapter 15- A Good Day

It was two in the morning. The sun hadn't come up yet, so the stars were still up pasted in the dark sapphire sky. The only song that could be heard anywhere was from the deep drones of the Whomping Willow and the gentle pit-pat of my shoes. The cool May breezes whispered down through little airways as I walked through a familiar secret passage.

I had chills, but it wasn't from the chilly night air. It must have been from all the recollections I'd been having from the DA fiasco. I tried to push away all of my thoughts. I finally had an inkling of what my reoccurring nightmare meant, but I refused to even think about it. I was in an everlasting abyss of denial. My mind was now focused on telling Hermione everything. Maybe I was just suffering from lack of sleep, but my mind was made up. I was going to tell Hermione everything. Hopefully, she would come up with a plan. If anyone could, she could. I didn't want to talk to Kim because she would think in the same way as Draco. As free spirited as she was, when it came to the heirs she was just like the rest of them. Hermione took everything in stride and analyzed every outcome, even when she herself was a little off from all the stress.

When I finally got to the Gryffindor common room, I pulled my cloak on and slipped up to the girls' dormitory. I was happy that I had remembered the password. I slipped into Hermione's room silently and pulled away her red curtains. Peaking in, I whispered to her.

"Mione?"

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" I heard a raspy voice asking.

I turned my head and saw Ginny looking at me through hazy eyes. She still looked like she was half asleep, but she smiled.

"I just needed to talk. I've got a lot on my mind."

I sat on Hermione's bed, and she stirred. Turning towards me, she pushed her messy hair out of her face. Her brown eyes stared at mine for a long time before she realized that it was me. "Emma? What happened? Are you okay?" She sat up and went to the other side of the bed where I was.

Ginny walked over and sat on Hermione's bed and closed the curtains. Hermione lit up her wand so we could see each other. I stared at both of the girl's, acknowledging their concerned faces. Hermione's brow was pulled up in worry. Ginny held her lips in a grim line, but was more relaxed than Hermione.

I opened my mouth and sighed, closing it again. I lowered my head trying to get the words out, but I just couldn't. My mind was clearing up. A hint of fear replaced my drowsiness. As forgiving as Hermione was, I just didn't think that she would be able to get past the fact that I was supposed to be the cause of her death. She'd put up with me for this long. She was the only friend that I had who wasn't partially crazy. I didn't know what I'd do without her. That's exactly why I refused to kill her.

"Is it Draco again?" Hermione asked softly. She took me into her arms and hugged me tightly.

I gazed at her in confusion. I hadn't even known that tears found their way to my eyes and down my cheeks. I sighed and wiped them away quickly. I shook my head. "Yeah, but it's not his fault. It's more of his father."

Ginny rolled her eyes. It seemed so obvious to her. Her face became animated in overly enthusiastic loathing. Scoffing, she whispered to me. "That git Malfoy! You know my dad says that Malfoy thinks that he runs the Ministry of Magic now, filling Fudge's head with lies."

"He just doesn't like me with Draco is all." I whispered back. "Can I just stay here for a bit? I need a break from all the slytherin talk."

Hermione nodded her head and the three of us sat in a row on her bed. We slipped beneath the comforter and began to talk. It was nothing in particular, but it was far better than thinking about my task or the heirs. It was mostly about Cody and Ron. Then, we talked about quidditch, surprisingly enough. Quietly, the two girls erased all of my worries. We talked all the way until five o'clock. The sun began peaking over the mountainous horizon. It felt good to gaze at the sunrise from the elongated window, refreshing from the dimly lit dungeons.

Eventually, I decided to creep back to the slytherin common room. Once I got back to my room, I saw Kim sitting at the desk, scratching her quill against a small roll of parchment. When I walk in, she glanced up and smiled. "Still up to no good I see. Good morning."

She beckoned me toward her. I went over to her and observed the parchment. On it was an array of her in a number of different dresses. One was colored with a wine red ink. It went past her feet but fit like a glove. It was a low spaghetti strap the covered her bust in a gentle sweeps of red linen. Another was a black heart shaped hem with a mermaid cut. A third dress was a sleek green dress with a thin silver string running below the bust and down the back of the dress. They were all so beautiful.

"Blaise asked me to the Ball. Bloody shame that I didn't get an invitation though. It's Cody's fault though. I guess it got to Lucius about the Ginny Weasley ordeal. It's alright though. I still get to show off another design. Do you want me to make you one?"

I smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course, otherwise Draco might try to buy me a dress."

Kim's eyes went wide in mock horror. She then laughed and pulled out another roll of parchment. "I better get to it then. Who are you going with anyway?"

I opened my trunk and started going through it for my tooth brush and a set of clothes. I shrugged my shoulders. It hadn't been high on my priorities. "I don't know. Haven't really thought about it."

"Well, Draco says that he's taking Milicent, but I told him he might as well take that big foot- you remember Tanya Reese…"

"Not really, but if you say so. It doesn't really matter to me. Anything is better than Pansy Parkinson." I replied picking up my things and heading to the bathroom.

"Yeah, remember we're the ones who have to listen to him complain later on." She called after me. I shook my head and laughed. Once again, I found myself doubting my judgment. I knew that Kim knew that I was with Hermione and Ginny. She knew that I slipped away, but she hadn't said a thing. She held a lightheartedness right now.

Then, something else occurred to me. Maybe Draco was right too. I had chosen to be friends with Hermione. No one had forced me. I didn't try to distance myself from them. It was only the slytherins that I was fighting off so hard. Now, I had Cody, Draco, Blaise, and Kim. I was positive that Crabbe and Goyle, as thick as they were, followed after me too. Maybe I was overthinking everything.

But, now it was too late. I knew how kind Hermione was. She took things in stride, but so did Kim. Kim was a _slytherin_ about things. Hermione was a _gryffindor _about things. It was as though I couldn't distinguish between the two.

I thought about it all while I was getting dressed. By the time that I braided my hair into two long French braids, Kim was staring at me with her long black hair and her deep onyx eyes. She leaned against our open door and observed me.

There it was. Kimberly Cross, the analytical heir, looked over me. This Kim frightened me. I wasn't sure what she was capable of. I wondered, with all the things that I knew about her, I didn't know much. She came from a wealthy family, but that was much of the slytherin house. She loved clothes so much that she was almost considered vain. She rummaged through the slytherin boys that I was surprised that she had skipped over Draco and his goons. Kim told me that Crabbe and Goyle were disgusting. I think that she'd hooked up with Blaise once, but she was quick to admit that it was a mistake. She always told me that Draco was more of her friend and that she couldn't see herself with him. He was really the male version of her. They were best friends, I was sure. Kimberly was a mystery like Draco.

I guessed that she was trying to see what I was thinking. I glanced at my reflection to see if anything showed on my face. I wasn't sure.

After a few moments her lips broke into a smile. "Well, are you coming? Hogsmeade only comes every few weeks."

I turned to her curiously, but nodded. She grabbed my purse and bypassed breakfast going straight to the carriages. The entire time, we rode in silence. Kim said nothing. She just went over a list of all the different fabrics that she would need. I watched her curiously. I didn't know what I was supposed to say, and she didn't hint to it either.

It wasn't until we got to a small shop called Lucy's Luxuries did she even begin to mention what she had on her mind. We went through the racks slowly. Kim walked back with a high stack of linens that she wanted to be cut. I browsed through the dresses, but couldn't find anything that caught my eye. Kim sighed aloud and pulled out a pink dress for me.

"So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Kim asked looking at the dresses.

"What? Nothing's wrong." I said putting a pink dress back.

Kim pulled it back out and pushed me towards the dressing room. "I can tell. Something happened with you and Draco." She indicted.

I turned around and scoffed. "It's nothing. It's just normal stuff."

"Yeah, as normal as Slytherin stuff gets." Her eyes conveyed that she meant more than just the sly and sneaky slytherins who steal from each other. "Okay, I won't press it. I just thought you would tell me like you told Granger."

"What?" I walked into the dressing room to hide from her oxen eyes. I slipped on the dress and stepped back out. "I didn't tell Hermione anything."

I could hear Kim's accusing tone through the dressing room door. It was even, but I could have sworn there was a hurt tone in it. "You know, at first I thought you went mad and told them everything, but you're not that mad. Then, I asked myself…what could she talk about with Hermione Granger that she can't just come to me?"

I shook my head. "It's not like that."

Kim glared at me for a moment and then sighed. "I know. It's just…I wonder sometimes…who your real friends are."

This time, I glared at her. It was almost exactly the same. "Did Draco put you up to this?"

She shook her head knowingly. "No, but I knew it was about him."

I sighed and took a dress that she had in her hands. "It's not Draco." I told her as I changed into the red chiffon dress. "It's everything. Draco, his father, Harry, Hermione, all this other heir business…"

"Hair business?"

I widened my eyes in shock. It was not Kim's voice. I zipped up the side of the dress and opened the door to see Hermione and Ginny standing beside Kim. Kim glanced at me and then back at them.

"Um, yes. I keep telling Emma that my hair has been disastrous the last few days. She insists that I've been complaining about it far too much." She stated quickly.

Ginny touched the pin straight locks and felt it all the way to the tips. Then, she shrugged. "It seemed perfect to me."

"As always." Hermione laughed. "Not at all like my unruly mess."

Kim smiled sympathetically. "Aw, Hermione, it honestly looks lovely. It's much better than it used to be."

Hermione coughed, but spread her lips into a polite smile. I look amongst the three girls, and I now started to feel as if I wasn't the only one feeling how awkward the conversation was.

"Well, what brings you to Lucy's on this fine Saturday morning?" I asked.

Ginny widened hey eyes excitedly. "Oh, I've actually got some money, so I'm buying a dress for this Ministry Ball that's coming up. Honestly I think it's a bunch of rubbish, but-"

"Wait," Kim held up her hand. Her eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You got an invitation…to the _Up-And-Coming_ Ball?"

"Well, no. Cody got the invitation. Naturally, he invited me as his date."

This didn't help at all. Kim's eyes widened and looked at me. "My cousin got an invitation, Emma. Imagine that?" Her voice was calm, but I saw the horror in her black orbs.

I held my breath and nodded. "Well, I'll be getting out of this dress then."

"It's lovely." Hermione interjected.

"Yes, well you can buy it. I don't really feel like buying dresses today." I hurried into the dressing room and took off the dress. After replacing my clothes, I rushed out and pulled at Kim's arm. She was currently at the register buying her fabric. I turned to the girls who were still shopping and waved to them. "I'll see you two later."

As soon as we hit the streets, Kim went off. I let her vent without saying a word. I just nodded and pulled her along to various shops.

"Can you believe it? Cody Anderson got a Blood Invitation. _Cody!_ Of all of the people who could have gotten it…and I didn't get one." Kim was distraught. She lived for stuff like this. Shaking her head, she set her straight black hair into a mess. She was lucky. Her hair looked even better than it had before.

Once we got to The Three Broomsticks, she was still ranting. We got a booth that sat against a far wall and got some butterbeers, even though Kim seemed like she was in desperate need of a firewhiskey. She complained on and on.

"I just don't understand. I'm prestigious. I have all the qualities of an up-and-coming witch. I'm gonna be the next Paola Labini."

I kept nodding and then stopped. I tilted my head as she continued speaking. "Who?"

Kim sighed and took a deep swig of her cup. "For merlin's sake Emma. Paola Labini? She's only the most famous fashion designer in the magical world. She designed that shirt you're wearing…"

I looked down at the long purple blouse. It had a wild print on it. I didn't really notice what it was, but it was cute. "This is your shirt. I think you gave it to me before Christmas break."

She looked over me once and nodded. "…Oh yeah, it looks good on you. Keep it. I can't believe you don't know about Paola Labini. I saw her fall line six years in a row. It was amazing. I'll have to take you this July."

Then, it seemed that Kim forgot all about the Ministry Ball. I'd much rather hear about her go on and on about clothes rather than the Ball. It was only interrupted by two boys coming up to us.

"Emma," A voice called me. It was Ron. He came through the entrance door and over to the pair of us. He had his hands set deep in the pockets of his faded jeans. His red hair was in its usual mess, but it complimented his pressed lips. He stood uncomfortably next to Seamus and Harry. He stood for a moment, staring at me.

Kim and I looked at him curiously. Harry had a huge smirk on his face. It was full of determination. Seamus held the same expression. They were different from Ron's disdain. I could have laughed, but I didn't. "Yes Ron? How are you?"

He didn't respond. He just stuck out his big lanky hand. I set my own in his and shook it.

He nodded and dropped his hand quickly. "Truce." He said.

I smiled warmly at him. Slowly it seemed that we were taking small steps forward. "Truce." I echoed back.

He nodded and walked away. Seamus walked away with him, giving him a pat on the back before joining Dean Thomas at a table.

I set my eyes on Harry and broke into a small giggle. Harry joined me before leaning into the table. "Don't laugh," he whispered. "This was hard enough for him."

"He didn't have to do that." I told Harry.

"Well, I guess that it would be better to not have all this bad blood circulating anymore." His green eyes sparkled behind his glasses.

I nodded, "How on earth did you get him to change his mind?"

Harry shrugged and waved goodbye. "I'll see you later Emma. Nice seeing you Kimberly."

Kim raised an eyebrow at me, but I just smiled and took a drink of my butterbeer. "They're all really lovely." I told her.

She just shook her head and continued onto a different designer.

I felt oddly pleasant. By the time that I got back to the school, I was on a certain high. I didn't even notice a certain platinum blonde coming towards me. His face grew gentle as he approached me with full sincerity. I could feel myself easily drift towards him.

I took hold of his hand as he was trudging down the stairwell. I pulled him back the way he came. Draco kept stride with me, but narrowed his eyes.

"Where in the bloody hell are we going?"

I glanced at him and kept forward. "I've had a really good day, and I don't really want it to end."

He laughed and pulled me into him. "So, you want to tell me all about your day with the gryffindors." He rolled his eyes, but his voice held humor in it.

"Actually, I spent most of it with Kim. We're going to see Paola Labini this summer."

He laughed even louder. He shook his head. "You know who Paola Labini is?"

I wacked his arm lightly, shushing him. "I do now. I think that it would be nice to spend some time with my friends this summer considering that I usually just spend it lounging on a beach in Venice."

"Sounds wondrous actually. So is that where you're taking me? Venice?"

I rolled my eyes and got up to an old room. It was my room- my space. I'd neglected it almost the entire year. I'd been there a couple times, but it was untouched. The room still held the dark colors, warm and inviting. The candles were still in the same spots, my books still in their messy piles. The pillows from the sofa lay on the floor in front of the small fireplace. Candy jars were still up on the shelves beside various other trinkets. The ceiling held light wisps of linens.

Draco observed the room for a moment. "It's been a while since we've been in here. You never really told me about this place." He strode over to a shelf and picked up a dusty jar. He held up a piece of hardened taffy before flicking it back into the old stuff.

Taking the jar for Draco's hand, I set it back up on the shelf and pulled him over to the pillows. I used my wand to set a small spark into the fire. I sat down on the floor. He took a seat beside me, gazing with curious humor. I shrugged my shoulders in a deep sigh. "The last time we were here, we weren't exactly on good terms. Since then, we've only barely made any progress. Today only made me realize that you and I don't even do all the things that normal couples do. If Kim and I can actually act liked real friends, and if Ron can act civil towards me, and if Hermione and Ginny and I can talk like we've known each other forever… We should be normal for one night. No talk of what it means to be a slytherin. No talk of being an heir."

"What do you want then?" Draco asked quietly.

I gazed back at him and took his hand into mine. I felt myself scoot closer to him. We were on the floor leaning again the sofa. I thought for a moment and looked into the fire. "Just talk to me. Tell me about your sister. What was your first quidditch match like? Anything."

He sang down and looked up at the rose colored silk. "So we're exchanging life stories?"

"If you want."

And we did. He didn't say much about his sister, but he told me about quidditch. He told me about the first time he met Blaise and Kim. He talked about his past summers and his first broomstick. In exchange, I told him about some of the muggles I knew when I was younger. I told him about all the lonely trips that I used to have every summer. We whispered through the night. And after we were done talking, we kissed. And eventually, the fire died out, leaving us in a serene quiet.

Taken in the sweet moments of the night, I was elated. It was one of the few moments that I was actually with Draco, I mean really with him. He whispered sweet _I love you'_s. He kept me closer to him that I could ever remember. I took in his cologne and the way his grey eyes looked in the darkness. I don't even remember drifting off to sleep, but I know that I was in his arms. He then drifted into my dreams. It was nothing but me and him in another tranquil silence.

It was a good day.

* * *

That's it. I'd give you a preview of the next chapter, but I don't see anything to show you. Give me about a week or two, and I'll have it up. I love all of you wonderful reader. I wonder if my writing has improved... Can you guys tell me. I know I'm no Edgar Allen Poe, but I'm an amateur.

Don't forget to R&R. Put this on your feed. Add as an app on your itouch. If you don't know how... LEARN. See you guys! XD

Chapter 16-The Note

It's all about detention!


	16. You Mean the Reader

**You Mean the Reader's Guide**

**Alright guys, here's a readers guide for you all. It's not professional or anything. So, just go with it. Also, I know that I spelled Emma's last name a number of different ways, but I've corrected it. My computer would always try to correct it, so it was wonky. **

**First off, a terms…**

**Heir**- It just means that you're a student in line to become a death eater. Most likely, they will have a task to perform or a rank to maintain.

**Mission/Task**- For those familiar with HBP, they know that Draco has a task to perform. That's what that is.

**Meetings**- Throughout the year, the heirs have secret meetings to keep up with where they are with the missions, and in some cases, to punish anyone who goes against the leaders or breaks rules.

**Next, Characters..**

**Emma Clarissa Paniettiere**- Slytherin who's become an heir (just means that she's gonna be a death eater). She's supposed to be second in command to Draco Malfoy, but she's reluctant at first. Her mission is to kill Hermione Granger, but she doesn't want to, but she has yet to come up with a good idea to get out of it. She faces off against Pansy Parkinson, and eventually earns the respect of the other heirs. Still, she finds friends in the Golden Trio and other key Gryffindors.

**Draco**- Emma's boyfriend, after some resistance on her part. His mean and ruthless when it comes to being first in line to become a death eater. He hasn't yet gotten his own task, but he's supposed to train Emma. He finds that he actually loves her, so he protects her from the other heirs. He also wanted to kill Hermione for Emma, but after she found out about the task, he couldn't lie to the death eaters or Voldemort anymore. So, he's frequently torn between forcing her to do what she ought to and letting her do what she thinks is right.

**Kimberly Cross**- Known as Kim, she's a high ranked heir. Before Emma, she would have been in ranks along with Blaise Zabini. You can consider that Blaise is Draco's right hand man and Kim is on the opposite side. After Emma comes, you can consider her Emma's right hand man. She loves wizard fashion. She's not snobby, and she has her own mind. She has a mean streak, but she's loyal to the people she wants to be loyal to. She hates Pansy more than anyone in the Slytherin house.

**Cody Anderson**- He's a year younger than most of the characters. He's a slytherin because his family expected it, but he's got a certain way of trying to wiggle out of a bad situation and is a bit of a coward. Otherwise, he's a sweet boy with a heart of any Gryffindor. He's intelligent when it comes to Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He's becomes smitten with Ginny Weasley after he got his task over the summer. He had full intent of killing her, but he fell for her and is still with her to this day.

**Pansy Parkinson**- A character from the HP series, she hates Emma and everything she stands for. She's convinced that it's Emma's fault that Emma has everything she ever wanted. She works to get the power over the heir and get back ranks that she never really had in the first place. People once thought that she would be the one to be with Draco, but no one really wanted her to. After Emma comes along, she becomes ruthless. The heirs started to think that she was a real threat until Emma fought back, and Kim messed her face up. She's gone off the deep end and left Hogwarts, but she's still out to get Emma.

**Jake Turner**- He's just an heir. He's the boy who was assigned to train Cody and the one who tortured him in Chapter 2.

**Tanya Reese**- She's an older Syltherin who's on the Inquisitor's Squad with Draco. She worked with Pansy to catch the DA. She doesn't particularly like Emma just because she wants Draco.

**Mark Quibley**- Another irrelevant Slytherin on the Inquisitor's Squad. He's another person who rounded up the DA. He overhears Ron talking about Emma. His loyalty to Draco is keen though. He doesn't report anything to anyone, but Draco.

**Millicent Bulstrode**- Okay, this is actually a girl from the HP series. I can't remember if it was Millicent…or Milificent…Bulstrode? I don't know, but she's not an original character. In this story, she's described as manly looking. No one really has any interest in her. She's one of Pansy's flunkies.

**Hermione Granger-** She's now one of Emma's best friends. She takes to Emma quickly, and even after she realizes her relationship with Draco, she still remains loyal. She trusts in her, but doesn't know anything about the heirs and Emma's task.

**Ginny Weasley**- Another close friend of Emma, they become friends when Emma tries to get her and Cody back together. She knows about the relationship between Draco and Emma, but she doesn't have much to say since her relationship isn't that different. She doesn't know about the task. She just knows that Cody said that she was a one night stand. She forgave him, but isn't willing to say that she's in love with him since she's only fourteen.

**Harry Potter**- I shouldn't have to write about him…He's another friend of Emma. He's got a lot of personal things going on, so he's the only one who doesn't know about Emma and Draco. He automatically took a liking to Emma, and considers himself to be close to her even though they don't talk that often. The only times that he saw her were in class and at the DA meetings, neither of which he got to have a full conversation with her.

**Ron Weasley**- He doesn't really trust Emma. Even as she gets closer to his friends, he thinks that something's going on. He uses his instincts to realize that she was with Draco. He slowly begins to let his guard down and agrees to a truce, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't mean that he trusts her. He's being agreeable though.

**Danielle Malfoy**- Little girl in the paintings at the Malfoy Manor and a Draco's picture frame. The actual Danielle died when she was nine. Draco is six years older than her. She tries to reveal Draco's secrets to Emma, but Draco catches Emma. She knows the secrets of the Malfoy Manor. You'll find out more about her in the sequel.

**Dream Girl- **I've gotten some messages asking when I was going to reveal the dream girl. Well, I've changed her identity. You'll find out all about her in the sequel. Might be a while…. She knows all of the previously mentioned characters. That's all I'm saying.

**About the Story**

I really started to love Emma. She's incredibly naïve and stupid, yet she's kind to almost everyone. She doesn't know what she wants, and nothing ever seems to go her way. She's all over the place. I love that about her because the story can really go anyway. Originally, when I was drawing up a chart of all the characters, Harry didn't have anyone to cuddle up with. There were lots of things that I wanted to do: put him in a love triangle with Emma, have him with Cho, kill off Cody and give Ginny to him… None of seemed to be right though. So, I let him keep his HP5 plot and kept him on the backburner. I admit that I wanted him to be a bigger character in this story, but the story ran away from me. I'll work harder the next time around though.

Draco, Hermione, Kim, and Pansy- these seem to be the main supporting characters. Pansy's just an easy target. I had to come up with a character who would hate Emma, and Pansy's just so attached to Draco. It was too easy. Kim…she's lovely to me. She's a lot like Devil Wears Prada. She's in love with wizarding fashion and seems to be just another of Draco's flunkies, but she's got a mean streak to her. She pounds some faces in and is capable of a lot. She's pretty tight with Draco. She can be considered more his friend than a flunky, like Blaise. Draco's a lot like Kim. He actually wants to be with Emma, but he already knows what it's like to deal with the heirs. He has their fear and respect.

Really, it was a test drive having all of these characters mesh together. I'm not sure if I did a good job with their interactions. I added in characters every time that I wanted to add a certain characteristic to Emma and her other characters, like how Kim is first introduced snogging a boy in their dormitory. Then, later she pounds Pansy's face in. Yet, she loves fashion and is loyal to her friends. Draco loyalty is a bit narrower than Kim. He seems to be the most loyal to Emma, but he trusts in a few people like Kim, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. Cody is a naïve boy and would do anything to get out of trouble. Yet, he's sweet.

I wanted the characters to have strong characteristics, but it seems that I did that for all of them except the main characters. I think I could have done it better, but I still enjoyed how they turned out. It will be interesting to find see what happens the second time around because things will be a lot different. There will be stronger emotions. The supporting characters have much more at stake, so it will be interesting to see how Emma responds to how her friends change.

**Background Info**

Okay, so I think this is very important for people to know. I didn't mean for this story to be so long. I only wanted it to be ten chapters. I didn't want it to be so long, and I definitely didn't want it to have a sequel. This story was only meant to be a stepping stone to launch my other stories. I had no intention on it getting so out of hand and getting a life of its own.

Secondly, when I first started this story, I didn't do anything else. I was a freshman with no hobbies. I had an idea for another story, but I wanted to test out my abilities first. Soon enough, this story took the main focus while my other favorites took the back burner. Once it did, I wrote the entire story. The only thing was, once I moved…everything got put in boxes and put up in my closet. Then, I recently found out that my mom threw out a lot of my old notebooks. Can you guess what went with it?

By then, I had new dilemmas anyway. I had ACTs and now I have college essays. Right as I'm writing this, I should be writing a college essay. In any case, I was busy. Then, I had to work and babysit. To make a long story short, life took over. When push came to shove, I took a break from everything and I was clearing out my email. I had to make room for colleges in my Yahoo. Then, I took a trip down memory lane in my notepad. I found some drafts that I had when I was first typing up the story. I was reading through it and I decided to stop procrastinating and get back to writing. I decided to start writing the ending, but I couldn't remember how I got some of the things to happen so I just changed it. It still worked to me, but things are way different now.

Originally, I had a birthday ball/party for Emma. Then, I had something from the actual HP movie…but anyway…I got a new idea. I've decided to squash the Summer idea. That story also took on a life of its own. I've got a whole different story in mind for her, but I'll tell you about that another time.

_**The Pact**_

Now, the sequel. Right now, it's titled _The Pact_. I've got a rough draft, more like an overview, of the story. I may change the name, but I'm not sure. I don't know why, but in all of my stories I've been writing angsty deaths… I don't know, but anyway. It's got nothing to do with Summer, but it does some brand spanking new characters. You also find out who the girl from Emma's dream is. She's pretty awesome if I do say so myself. Harry's got his own girl, but in a way Emma wants to get in the way again. We've got an onslaught of new characters, some OCs and some HP characters. We've got Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, the Grey Lady…and some others.

The Pact…

_Last year, Emma's choice led to the ultimate sacrifice. Now with new enemies and allies, the past comes back to the surface. A witch, a secret among secrets, and a pact that doesn't seem to have an end…_

It's a great story to me. I've really put a lot of thought into it. You'll be able to see more POV's. I hope you guys will like it, and I will do my best to get it online to you as soon as I can.

**Other Thoughts**

Please don't forget that a lot goes on in life, and I have a list of other stories that I want to write for you guys. I'll write some more OneShots for you guys. I also have some SongFics, but they seem a bit cheesy for other's to read…But I'll go through them and upload some.

I really want to finish this story. It drives me crazy when I can't get around to it. Sometimes, I go to HPFF or and try to read… Then after about thirty seconds of browsing, I find myself opening up Word. But I have no inspiration, and then I have to do something else. Just like that, it goes on the back burner again. That's not just with YMtWtM. It's with all of my stories. I'm gonna try harder. I'm spending hours at my computer sifting through my email and editing the stories trying to get that spark that I had when I didn't have a hundred and one things to do. So, for those of you who read through this entire thing, I amend you. I'm so glad that you're sticking through and wanna see this to the end. I love you guys!

Hope this was helpful, or at least informative. Come back soon for Chapter 15…

"_It's everything. Draco, his father, Harry, Hermione, all this other heir business…"_

"_Hair business?"_

_I widened my eyes in shock. It was not Kim's voice._


End file.
